The Short Stories
by The Stoll Sisters
Summary: While working on the Argo II, Leo finds some mysterious stories about Percy Jackson.  Reading the short stories from the demigod files! No flames please, I DO NOT OWN THE STORIES AND CHARACTERS.
1. The Bronze Dragon

**The Bronze Dragon **

**Leo**

Leo just laid there in his bed, trying to do something on this fine day. He was supposed to be working on the Argo II, but Annabeth insisted all the Hephaestus campers have the day off while the Athena campers work on it. But instead of working and sweating and the hard work, Leo loved working on the Argo II, it was better than laying in bed all day and doing nothing. So he thought of stuff that was in his mind, until a question formed.

"Jake?" He called.

"Yeah?" Since Jake's bed was only beside Leo's, he didn't need to walk there.

"How did Beckendorf get Festus any way? As in how did he find it?"

"I don't know, I wasn't there, but it was an awesome night."

Leo just sighed in thought of something else. He was about to go outside to go to Jason but something stopped him. He found a pile of papers in his bedside table and read the first page, it had a note.

_Read this to find answers._

He had no idea what that meant, so he continued to the second page, the title read:

_Percy Jackson and The Bronze Dragon. _His eyes suddenly widened. Could it be Festus? He thought then dashed towards Bunker 9. When he arrived, he found Annabeth, frowning.

"Leo, you're supposed to be on your day off, what's the matter?"

"I found something." He gave the papers to Annabeth and her eyes were wider than ever.

"It's about Festus, you wanna read it?"

"Um, sure, you can even call the others."

She didn't even finish the sentence and Leo was already running to call the others. After dinner, Jason, Piper, Leo, Annabeth, Nico, Thalia (who came to help with the Argo II), Jake and the other counselors were all together in the conference room (the ping-pong table).

"This is so not a conference room." Nico commented.

"Well we're here because Leo received some mysterious papers out of nowhere about the some stories." Annabeth announced.

"That sounds believable." Nico said.

"Shut it, Nico." Annbeth said. "Who wants to read?"

"I'll do it" Jason volunteered. "Might as well read than listen."

**Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon**

**One dragon can ruin your whole day.**

"True." Jake said.

**Trust me, as a demigod I've had my share of bad experiences. I've been snapped at,**

**clawed at, blowtorched, and poisoned. I've fought single-headed dragons, doubleheaded,**

"And he's still alive." Nico said

"Didn't I tell you to shut it?" Annabeth warned.

**eight-headed, nine-headed, and the kinAd with so many heads that if you**

**stopped to count them you'd be pretty much dead.**

A lot of people smiled at this.

**But that time with the bronze dragon? I thought for sure my friends and I were going to**

**end up as Kibbles 'n' Dragon Bits.**

And this.

**The evening started simply enough.**

**It was the end of June. I'd come back from my most recent quest about two weeks**

**before, and life at Camp Half-Blood was returning to normal. Satyrs were chasing the**

**dryads. Monsters howled in the woods. The campers were playing pranks on one**

**another, and our camp director, Dionysus, was turning anyone who misbehaved into a**

**shrub. Typical summer camp stuff.**

**After dinner, all the campers were hanging out at the dining pavilion. We were all**

**excited because tonight's capture-the-flag was going to be totally vicious.**

"Yeah!" Clarisse roared.

**The night before, Hephaestus's cabin had pulled off a huge upset. They'd captured the**

**flag from Ares—with my help, thank you very much—which meant that tonight the Ares**

**cabin would be out for blood. Well... they're ****always ****out for blood, but tonight especially.**

"Out for blood?" Leo asked, worried. 

**On the blue team were Hephaestus's cabin, Apollo, Hermes, and me—the only demigod**

**in Poseidon's cabin. The bad news was that for once, Athena and Ares—both war god**

**cabins—were against us on the red team, along with Aphrodite, Dionysus, and Demeter.**

**Athena's cabin held the other flag, and my friend Annabeth was their captain.**

**Annabeth is ****not ****somebody you want as an enemy.**

**Right before the game, she strolled up to me. "Hey, seaweed brain."**

**"Will you stop calling me that?"**

**She knows I hate that name, mostly because I never have a good comeback. She's the**

**daughter of Athena, which doesn't give me a lot of ammunition. I mean, Owl-head and**

**Wise Girl are kind of lame insults.**

"Good one." Thalia said sarcastically.

**"You know you love it." She bumped me with her shoulder, which I guess was supposed**

**to be friendly, but she was wearing full Greek armor, so it kind of hurt. Her gray eyes**

**sparkled under the helmet. Her blond ponytail curled around one shoulder. It was hard**

**for anyone to look cute in combat armor, but Annabeth pulled it off.**

Annabeth smiled.

**"Tell you what." She lowered her voice. "We're going to crush you tonight, but if you**

**pick a safe position—like right flank, for instance—I'll make sure you don't get pulverized**

**too much."**

"That sounds so generous." Jason said.

**"Gee, thanks," I said, "but I'm playing to win."**

**She smiled. "See you on the battlefield."**

**She jogged back to her teammates, who all laughed and gave her high fives. I'd never**

**seen her so happy, like the chance to beat me up was the best thing that had ever**

**happened to her.**

**Beckendorf walked up with his helmet under his arm. "She likes you, man."**

**"Sure," I muttered. "She likes me for target practice**

A lot of people laughed at this, Annabeth was grinning.

"Oh the love." Piper said

**"Nah, they always do that. A girl starts trying to kill you, you know she's into you."**

**"Makes a lot of sense."**

**Beckendorf shrugged. "I know about these things. You ought to ask her to the**

**fireworks."**

"Fireworks?" Leo asked.

"I think he'll explain it." Annabeth replied

**I couldn't tell if he was serious. Beckendorf was lead counselor for Hephaestus. He was**

**this huge African American dude with a permanent scowl, muscles like a pro ballplayer,**

**and hands calloused from working in the forges his whole life. He'd just turned eighteen**

**and was on his way to NYU in the fall.**

So that's how he looks like, Leo thought.

**Since he was older, I usually listened to him**

**about stuff, but the idea of asking Annabeth to the Fourth of July fireworks down at the**

**beach—like, the biggest dating event of the summer—made my stomach do**

**somersaults.**

"Nobody told me about this!" Piper exclaimed.

"That's because it's not July yet." Nico breathed.

**Then Silena Beauregard, the head counserlor for Aphrodite, passed by.**

Piper suddenly pulled her head down.

**Beckendorf had**

**had a not-so-secret crush on her for three years. She had long black hair and big brown**

**eyes, and when she walked, the guys tended to watch. She said, "Good luck, Charlie."**

**(Nobody ****ever ****calls Beckendorf by his first name.) She flashed him a brilliant smile and**

**went to join Annabeth on the red team.**

**"Uh..." Beckendorf swallowed like he'd forgotten how to breathe.**

"Good ol' Beckendorf." Jake grinned, hiding his sadness.

**I patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks for the advice, dude. Glad you're so wise about**

**girls and all. Come on. Let's get to the woods."**

**Naturally, Beckendorf and I took the most dangerous job.**

**While the Apollo cabin played defense with their bows, the Hermes cabin would charge**

**up the middle of the woods to distract the enemy. Meanwhile, Beckendorf and I would**

**scout around the left flank, locate the enemy's flag, knock out the defenders, and get**

**the flag back to our side. Simple.**

**Why the left flank?**

**"Because Annabeth wanted me to go right," I told Beckendorf, "which means she**

**doesn't ****want us to go left."**

**Beckendorf nodded. "Let's suit up."**

**He'd been working on a secret weapon for the two of us: bronze chameleon armor,**

**enchanted to blend into the background.**

"That's so awesome!" Leo said.

**If we stood in front of rocks, our breastplates,**

**helms, and shields turned gray. If we stood in front of bushes, the metal changed to a**

**leafy green. It wasn't true invisibility, but we'd have pretty good cover, at least from a**

**distance.**

**"This stuff took forever to forge," Beckendorf warned me. "Don't mess it up!"**

**"You got it, Captain."**

**Beckendorf grunted. I could tell he liked being called captain. The rest of the**

**Hephaestus campers wished us well, and we sneaked off into the woods, immediately**

**turning brown and green to match the trees.**

**We crossed the creek that served as the boundary between the teams. We heard**

**fighting in the distance: swords clashing against shields. I glimpsed a flash of light from**

**some magical weapon, but we saw no one.**

**"No border guards?" Beckendorf whispered. "Weird."**

**"Overconfident," I guessed. But I felt uneasy. Annabeth was a great strategist. It wasn't**

**like her to get sloppy on defense, even if her team did outnumber us.**

Annabeth did a big evil smirk.

"You scare me sometimes, Annabeth." Leo said but she didn't say anything.

**We moved into enemy territory. I knew we had to hurry, because our team was playing**

**a defensive game, and that couldn't last forever. The Apollo kids would get overrun**

**sooner or later. The Ares cabin wouldn't be slowed down by a little thing like arrows.**

**We crept along the base of an oak tree. Suddenly, a girl's face emerged from the trunk.**

**"Shoo!" she said, then faded back into the bark.**

**"Dryads," Beckendorf grumbled. "So touchy."**

**"Am not!" a muffled voice said from the tree.**

"Touchy." Nico said.

"You're very lucky that a dryad can only stay in the forest." Thalia said.

**We kept moving. It was hard to tell exactly where we were. Some landmarks stood out,**

**like the creek and certain cliffs and some really old trees, but the woods tended to shift**

**around. I guess the nature spirits got restless. Paths changed. Trees moved.**

**Then, suddenly, we were at the edge of a clearing. I knew we were in trouble when I**

**saw the mountain of dirt.**

**"Holy Hephaestus," Beckendorf whispered. "The Ant Hill."**

**I wanted to back up and run. I'd never seen the Ant Hill before, but I'd heard stories**

**from the older campers. The mound rose almost to the treetops—four stories at least.**

"That's pretty tall." Connor said.

**Its sides were riddled with tunnels, and crawling in and out were thousands of...**

**"Myrmekes," I muttered.**

**That's Ancient Greek for ants, but these things were way more than that. They would've**

**given any exterminator a heart attack.**

**The Myrmekes were the size of German shepherds.**

A lot of people put on disgusted faces.

**Their armored shells glistened blood**

**red. Their eyes were beady black, and their razor-sharp mandibles sliced and snapped.**

**Some carried tree branches. Some carried chunks of raw meat that I really didn't want**

**to know about. Most carried bits of metal—old armor, swords, food platters that had**

**somehow found their way out here from the dining pavilion. One ant was dragging the**

**glossy black hood of a sports car.**

"Where did that come from." Travis said.

**"They love shiny metal," Beckendorf whispered. "Especially gold. I've heard they have**

**more gold in their nest than Fort Knox."**

**He sounded envious.**

**"Don't even think about it," I said.**

**"Dude, I won't," he promised. "Let's get out of here while we..."**

**His eyes widened.**

**Fifty feet away, two ants were struggling to drag a big hunk of metal toward their nest.**

**The thing was the size of a refrigerator. It was all glittery gold and bronze, with weird**

**bumps and ridges down the side and a bunch of wires sticking out the bottom. Then the**

**ants rolled the thing over, and I saw its face.**

**I just about jumped out of my skin. "That's a—"**

**"Shhh!" Beckendorf pulled me back into the bushes.**

**"But that's a—"**

**"Dragon's head," he said in awe. "Yes. I see it."**

"Festus."

**The snout was as long as my body. The mouth hung open, showing metal teeth, like a**

**shark's. Its skin was a combination of gold and bronze scales, and its eyes were rubies**

**as big as my fists. The head looked like it had been hacked from its body—chewed by**

**ant mandibles. The wires were frayed and tangled.**

**The head must've been heavy, too, because the ants were struggling, moving it only a**

**few inches with every tug.**

**"If they get it to the hill," Beckendorf said, "the other ants will help them. We've got to**

**stop them."**

**"What?" I asked. "Why?"**

**"It's a sign from Hephaestus. Come on!"**

**I didn't know what he was talking about, but I'd never seen Beckendorf look so**

**determined. He sprinted along the edge of the clearing, his armor blending into the**

**trees.**

**I was about to follow when something sharp and cold pressed against my neck.**

**"Surprise," Annabeth said, right next me. She must've had her magic Yankees cap on,**

**because she was totally invisible.**

"Busted." Travis said.

**I tried to move, but she dug her knife under my chin. Silena appeared out of the woods,**

**her sword drawn. Her Aphrodite armor was pink and red, color-coordinated to match**

**her clothes and makeup. She looked like Guerilla Warfare Barbie.**

Piper smiled.

**"Nice work," she told Annabeth.**

**An invisible hand confiscated my sword. Annabeth took off her cap and appeared before**

**me, smiling smugly. "Boys are easy to follow. They make more noise than a lovesick**

**Minotaur."**

**My face felt hot. I tried to think back, hoping I hadn't said anything embarrassing. No**

**telling how long Annabeth and Silena had been eavesdropping.**

**"You're our prisoner," Annabeth announced. "Let's get Beckendorf and—"**

**"Beckendorf!" For a split second I'd forgotten about him, but he was still forging ahead,**

**straight toward the dragon's head. He was already forty feet away. He hadn't noticed**

**the girls, or the fact that I wasn't behind him.**

**"Come on!" I told Annabeth.**

**She pulled me back. "Where do you think you're going, prisoner?"**

**"Look!"**

**She peered into the clearing and for the first time seemed to realize where we were.**

**"Oh, Zeus..."**

**Beckendorf leaped into the open and struck one of the ants. His sword clanged off the**

**thing's carapace. The ant turned, snapping its pincers. Before I could even call out, the**

**ant bit Beckendorf's leg, and he crumpled to the ground. The second ant sprayed goo in**

**his face, and Beckendorf screamed. He dropped his sword and slapped wildly at his own**

**eyes.**

"No." Leo snapped.

**I surged forward, but Annabeth pulled me back. "****No.****"**

"Wow that's a little creepy, Leo." Jason said.

**"Charlie!" Silena yelled.**

**"Don't!" Annabeth hissed. "It's already too late!"**

**"What are you talking about?" I demanded. "We have to—"**

**Then I noticed more ants swarming toward Beckendorf—ten, twenty. They grabbed him**

**by the armor and dragged him toward the hill so fast he was swept into a tunnel and**

**gone.**

**"No!" Silena pushed Annabeth. "You ****let ****them take Charlie!"**

**"There's no time to argue," Annabeth said. "Come on!"**

**I thought she was going to lead us on a charge to save Beckendorf, but instead she**

**raced to the dragon's head, which the ants had momentarily forgotten. She grabbed it**

**by the wires and started dragging it toward the woods.**

**"What are you ****doing****?" I demanded. "Beckendorf—"**

**"Help me," Annabeth grunted. "Quick, before they get back."**

**"Oh, my gods!" Silena said. "You're more worried about this hunk of metal than**

**Charlie?"**

**Annabeth spun around and shook her by the shoulders. "Listen, Silena! Those are**

**Myrmekes. They're like fire ants, only a hundred times worse. They bite poison. They**

**spray acid. They communicate with all the other ants and swarm anything that**

**threatens them. If we'd rushed in there to help Beckendorf, we would have been**

**dragged inside, too. We're going to need help—a ****lot ****of help—to get him back. Now,**

**grab some wires and ****pull****!"**

**I didn't know what Annabeth was up to, but I'd adventured with her long enough to**

**figure she had a good reason. The three of us tugged the metal dragon's head into the**

**woods. Annabeth didn't let us stop until we were fifty yards from the clearing. Then we**

**collapsed, sweating and breathing hard.**

**Silena started to cry. "He's probably dead already."**

**"No," Annabeth said. "They won't kill him right away. We've got about half an hour."**

**"How do you know that?" I asked.**

**"I've read about the Myrmekes. They paralyze their prey so they can soften them up**

**before—"**

**Silena sobbed. "We have to save him!"**

**"Silena," Annabeth said. "We're ****going ****to save him, but I need you to get a grip.**

**There ****is ****a way."**

**"Call the other campers," I said, "or Chiron. Chiron will know what to do."**

**Annabeth shook her head. "They're scattered all over the woods. By the time we got**

**everyone back here, it would be too late. Besides, the entire camp wouldn't be strong**

**enough to invade the Ant Hill."**

**"Then what?"**

**She pointed at the dragon's head.**

**"Okay," I said. "You're going to scare the ants with a big metal puppet?"**

**"It's an automaton," she said.**

**That didn't make me feel any better. Automatons were magical bronze robots made by**

**Hephaestus. Most of them were crazed killing machines, and those were the ****nice ****ones.**

**"So what?" I said. "It's just a head. It's broken."**

**"Percy, this isn't just ****any ****automaton," Annabeth said. "It's the bronze dragon. Haven't**

**you heard the stories?"**

**I stared at her blankly. Annabeth had been at camp a lot longer than I had. She**

**probably knew tons of stories I didn't.**

**Silena's eyes widened. "You mean the old guardian? But that's just a legend!"**

**"Whoa," I said. "What old guardian?"**

**Annabeth took a deep breath. "Percy, in the days before Thalia's tree—back before the**

**camp had magical boundaries to keep out monsters—the counselors tried all sorts of**

**different ways to protect themselves. The most famous was the bronze dragon. The**

**Hephaestus cabin made it with the blessing of their father. **

"Ooh."

**Supposedly, it was so fierce**

**and powerful that it kept the camp safe for over a decade. And then... about fifteen**

**years ago, it disappeared into the woods."**

**"And you think this is its head?"**

**"It has to be! The Myrmekes probably dug it up while they were looking for precious**

**metal. They couldn't move the whole thing, so they chewed off the head. The body can't**

**be far away."**

**"But they chewed it apart. It's useless."**

**"Not necessarily." Annabeth's eyes narrowed, and I could tell her brain was working**

**overtime. "We could reassemble it. If we could activate it—"**

**"It could help us rescue Charlie!" Silena said.**

**"Hold up," I said. "That's a lot of ifs. ****If ****we find it, ****if ****we can reactivate it in time, ****if ****it will**

**help us. You said this thing disappeared fifteen years ago?"**

**Annabeth nodded. "Some say its motor wore out so it went into the woods to deactivate**

**itself. Or its programming went haywire. No one knows."**

**"You want to reassemble a haywire metal dragon?"**

**"We have to try!" Annabeth said. "It's Beckendorf's only hope! Besides, this could be a**

**sign from Hephaestus. The dragon should want to help one of Hephaestus's kids.**

**Beckendorf would want us to try."**

**I didn't like the idea. On the other hand, I didn't have any better suggestions. We were**

**running out of time, and Silena looked like she was about to go into shock if we didn't**

**do something soon. Beckendorf ****had ****said something about a sign from Hephaestus.**

**Maybe it was time to find out.**

**"All right," I said. "Let's go find a headless dragon."**

"That sounds wrong." Nico and Connor said.

"I hate the freakiness!" Nico groaned.

**We searched ****forever****, or maybe it just seemed that way, because the whole time, I was**

**imagining Beckendorf in the Ant Hill, scared and paralyzed while a bunch of armored**

**critters scuttled around him, waiting for him to be tenderized.**

"Percy always thinks of the negative part." Annabeth shook.

**It wasn't hard to follow the ants' trail. They'd dragged the dragon's head through the**

**forest, making a deep rut in the mud, and we dragged the head right back the way**

**they'd come.**

**We must've gone a quarter of a mile—and I was getting worried about our time—when**

**Annabeth said, "****Di immortalis****."**

**We'd come to the rim of a crater—like something had blasted a house-size hole in the**

**forest floor. The sides were slippery and dotted with tree roots. Ant tracks led to the**

**bottom, where a large metal mound glinted through the dirt. Wires stuck up from a**

**bronze stump on one end.**

**"The dragon's neck," I said. "You think the ants made this crater?"**

**Annabeth shook her head. "Looks more like a meteor blast..."**

**"Hephaestus," Silena said. "The god must've unearthed this. He wanted us to find the**

**dragon. He wanted Charlie to..." She choked up.**

**"Come on," I said. "Let's reconnect this bad boy."**

"Bad boy?" Connor said. "That sounds like Travis when he broke his arm."

His brother glared at him.

**Getting the dragon's head to the bottom was easy. It tumbled right down the slope and**

**hit the neck with a loud, metallic ****bonk! ****Reconnecting it was harder.**

**We had no tools and no experience.**

**Annabeth fiddled with the wires and cursed in Ancient Greek. "We need Beckendorf. He**

**could do this in seconds."**

**"Isn't your mom the goddess of inventors?" I asked.**

**Annabeth glared at me. "Yes, but I'm good with ****ideas****. Not mechanics."**

**"If I was going to pick one person in the world to reattach my head," I said, "I'd pick**

**you."**

"It sounds wrong, but it's so sweet." Piper said.

**I just blurted it out—to give her confidence, I guess—but immediately I realized it**

**sounded pretty stupid.**

**"Awww..." Silena sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Percy, that is ****so ****sweet!"**

**Annabeth blushed. "Shut up, Silena. Hand me your dagger."**

"You know you liked it, Annabeth." Connor said.

**I was afraid Annabeth was going to stab me with it. Instead she used it as a**

**screwdriver, to open a panel in the dragon's neck. "Here goes nothing," she said.**

**And she started to splice together the celestial bronze wires.**

**It took a long time. ****Too ****long.**

**I figured capture-the-flag had to be over by now. I wondered how soon the other**

**campers would realize we were missing and come looking for us. Beckendorf probably**

**had five or ten minutes left before the ants got him, if Annabeth's calculations were**

**correct (and they always were).**

**Finally Annabeth stood up and exhaled. Her hands were scraped and muddy. Her**

**fingernails were wrecked. She had a brown streak across her forehead where the**

**dragon had decided to spit grease at her.**

**"All right," she said. "It's done, I think..."**

**"You ****think****?" Silena asked.**

**"It has to be done," I said. "We're out of time. How do you, uh, start it? Is there an**

**ignition switch or something?"**

**Annabeth pointed to its ruby eyes. "Those turn clockwise. I'm guessing we rotate them."**

**"If somebody twisted my eyeballs, I'd wake up," I agreed.**

"Does he always think like that?" Jason asked.

"No" Annabeth replied.

**"What if it goes crazy on us?"**

**"Then... we're dead," Annabeth said.**

**"Great," I said. "I'm psyched."**

**Together we turned the ruby eyes of the dragon. Immediately, they began to glow.**

**Annabeth and I backed up so fast we fell over each other. The dragon's mouth opened,**

**as if it were testing its jaw. The head turned and looked at us. Steam poured from its**

**ears, and it tried to rise.**

**When it found it couldn't move, the dragon seemed confused. It cocked its head and**

**regarded the dirt. Finally, it realized it was buried. The neck strained once, twice... and**

**the center of the crater erupted.**

**The dragon pulled itself awkwardly out of the ground, shaking clumps of mud from its**

**body the way a dog might, splattering us from head to toe. The automaton was so**

**awesome none of us could speak. I mean, sure, it needed a trip through the car wash,**

**and there were a few loose wires sticking out here and there, but the dragon's body was**

**amazing—like a high-tech tank with legs. Its sides were plated with bronze and gold**

**scales, encrusted with gemstones. Its legs were the size of tree trunks, and its feet had**

**steel talons. It had no wings—most Greek dragons don't—but its tail was at least as long**

**as its main body, which was the size of a school bus. The neck creaked and popped as it**

**turned its head to the sky and blew a column of triumphant fire.**

**"Well..." I said in a small voice. "It still works."**

**Unfortunately, it heard me. Those ruby eyes zeroed in on me,**

"Nice work again, Percy." Clarisse said sarcastically.

**and it stuck its snout two**

**inches from my face. Instinctively, I reached for my sword.**

**"Dragon, stop!" Silena yelled. I was amazed her voice still worked. She spoke with such**

**command that the automaton turned its attention to her.**

**Silena swallowed nervously. "We've woken you to defend the camp. You remember?**

**That is your job!"**

**The dragon tilted its head like it was thinking. I figured Silena had about a fifty-fifty**

**chance of getting blasted with fire. I was considering jumping on the thing's neck to**

**distract it when Silena said, "Charles Beckendorf, a son of Hephaestus, is in trouble. The**

**Myrmekes have taken him. He needs your help."**

**At the word ****Hephaestus****, the dragon's neck straightened. A shiver rippled through its**

**metal body, throwing a new shower of mud clods all over us.**

**The dragon looked around, as if trying to find an enemy.**

**"We have to show it," Annabeth said. "Come on, dragon! This way to the son of**

**Hephaestus! Follow us!"**

**Just like that, she drew her sword, and the three of us climbed out of the pit.**

**"For Hephaestus!" Annabeth yelled, which was a nice touch. We charged through the**

**woods. When I looked behind us, the bronze dragon was right on our tail, its red eyes**

**glowing and steam coming out its nostrils.**

**It was good incentive to keep running fast as we headed for the Ant Hill.**

**When we got to the clearing, the dragon seemed to catch Beckendorf's scent. It**

**barreled ahead of us, and we had to jump out of its way to avoid getting flattened. It**

**crashed through the trees, joints creaking, feet pounding craters into the ground.**

**It charged straight for the Ant Hill. At first, the Myrmekes didn't know what was**

**happening. The dragon stepped on a few of them, smashing them to bug juice.**

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered.

**Then**

**their telepathic network seemed to light up, like: ****Big dragon. Bad!**

**All the ants in the clearing turned simultaneously and swarmed the dragon. More ants**

**poured out of the hill—hundreds of them. The dragon blew fire and sent a whole column**

**of them into a panicked retreat. Who knew ants were flammable? But more kept**

**coming.**

**"Inside, now!" Annabeth told us. "While they're focused on the dragon!"**

**Silena led the charge; it was the first time I'd ever followed a child of Aphrodite into**

**battle. We ran past the ants, but they ignored us. For some reason, they seemed to**

**consider the dragon a bigger threat. Go figure.**

**We plunged into the nearest tunnel, and I almost gagged from the stench. Nothing, I**

**mean nothing, stinks worse than a giant ant lair. I could tell they let their food rot**

**before eating it. Somebody seriously needed to teach them about refrigerators.**

**Our journey inside was a blur of dark tunnels and moldy rooms carpeted with old ant**

**shells and pools of goo. Ants kept surging past us on their way to battle, but we just**

**stepped aside and let them pass. The faint bronze glow of my sword gave us light as we**

**made our way deeper into the nest.**

**"Look!" Annabeth said.**

**I glanced into a side room, and my heart skipped a beat. Hanging from the ceiling were**

**huge, gooey sacks—ant larvae, I guess—but that's not what got my attention. The cave**

**floor was heaped with gold coins, gems, and other treasures: helmets, swords, musical**

**instruments, jewelry. They glowed the way magic items do.**

"Dude," Travis said to his brother. "We gotta find that nest someday."

**"That's just one room," Annabeth said. "There are probably hundreds of nurseries down**

**here, decorated with treasure."**

**"It's not important," Silena insisted. "We have to find Charlie!"**

**Another first: a child of Aphrodite uninterested in jewelry.**

**We forged on. After twenty more feet, we entered a cavern that smelled so bad my**

**nose shut down completely. The remains of old meals were piled as high as sand**

**dunes—bones, chunks of rancid meat, even old camp meals. I guess the ants had been**

**raiding the camp's compost heap and stealing our leftovers. At the base of one of the**

**heaps, struggling to pull himself upright, was Beckendorf. He looked awful, partly**

**because his camouflage armor was now the color of garbage.**

**"Charlie!" Silena ran to him and tried to help him up.**

**"Thank the gods," he said. "My—my legs are paralyzed!"**

**"It'll wear off," Annabeth said, "but we have to get you out of here. Percy, take his other**

**side."**

**Silena and I hoisted Beckendorf up, and the four of us started back through the tunnels.**

**I could hear distant sounds of battle—metal creaking, fire roaring, hundreds of ants**

**snapping and spitting.**

**"What's going on out there?" Beckendorf asked. His body tensed. "The dragon! You**

**didn't—reactivate it?"**

**"Afraid so," I said. "Seemed like the only way."**

**"But you can't just turn on an automaton! You have to calibrate the motor, run a**

**diagnostic... there's no telling what it'll do! We've got to get out there!"**

**As it turned out, we didn't need to go anywhere, because the dragon came to us. We**

**were trying to remember which tunnel was the exit when the entire hill exploded,**

**showering us in dirt. Suddenly we were staring at open sky. The dragon was right above**

**us, thrashing back and forth, smashing the Ant Hill to bits as it tried to shake off the**

**Myrmekes crawling all over its body.**

**"Come on!" I yelled. We dug ourselves out of the dirt and stumbled down the side of the**

**hill, dragging Beckendorf with us.**

**Our friend the dragon was in trouble. The Myrmekes were biting at the joints of his**

**armor, spitting acid all over him. The dragon stomped and snapped and blew flames,**

**but it couldn't last much longer. Steam was rising from its bronze skin.**

**Even worse, a few of the ants turned toward us. I guess they didn't like us stealing their**

**dinner. I slashed at one and lopped off its head. Annabeth stabbed another right**

**between the feelers. As the celestial bronze blade pierced its shell, the whole ant**

**disintegrated.**

**"I—I think I can walk now," Beckendorf said, and immediately fell on his face when we**

**let him go.**

**"Charlie!" Silena helped him up and pulled him along while Annabeth and I cleared a**

**path through the ants. Somehow, we managed to reach the edge of the clearing without**

**getting bitten or splashed, though one of my sneakers was smoking from acid.**

**Back in the clearing, the dragon stumbled. A great cloud of acid mist was roiling off its**

**hide.**

**"We can't let it die!" Silena said.**

**"It's too dangerous," Beckendorf said sadly. "Its wiring—"**

**"Charlie," Silena pleaded, "it saved your life! Please? For me."**

**Beckendorf hesitated. His face was still bright red from the ant spit, and he looked as if**

**he were going to faint any minute, but he struggled to his feet. "Get ready to run," he**

**told us. Then he gazed across the clearing and shouted, "****Dragon! ****Emergency defense,**

**beta-****activate!****"**

Everyone's faces was covered in awe.

**The dragon turned toward the sound of his voice. It stopped struggling against the ants,**

**and its eyes glowed. The air smelled of ozone, like a thunderstorm.**

**ZZZZZAAAAAPPP!**

**Arcs of blue electricity shot from the dragon's skin, rippling up and down its body and**

**connecting with the ants. Some blew up. Others smoked and blackened and fell off,**

**their legs twitching. In a few seconds, there were no more ants on the dragon. The**

**ones that were still alive were in full retreat, scuttling back toward their ruined hill as**

**fingers of electricity zapped them in the butts to prod them along.**

**The dragon bellowed in triumph. Then it turned its glowing eyes toward us.**

**"Now," Beckendorf said, "we run."**

**This time we did not yell, "For Hephaestus!" We yelled, "Heeeeelp!"**

Many people laughed here.

**The dragon pounded after us, spewing fire and zapping lighting bolts over our heads like**

**it was having a great time.**

"It probably was." Nico said

**"How do you stop it?" Annabeth yelled.**

**Beckendorf, whose legs were now working fine (nothing like being chased by a huge**

**monster to get your body back in order) shook his head and gasped for breath. "You**

**shouldn't have turned it on! It's unstable! After a few years, automatons go wild!"**

**"Good to know," I yelled. "But how do you turn it off?"**

**Beckendorf looked around wildly. "There!"**

**Up ahead was an outcropping of rock, almost as tall as the trees. The woods were full of**

**weird rock formations like that, but I'd never seen this one before. It was shaped like a**

**giant skateboard ramp, slanted on one side, with a sheer drop-off on the other.**

**"You guys, run around to the base of the cliff," Beckendorf said. "Distract the dragon.**

**Keep it occupied!"**

**"What are you going to do?" Silena said.**

**"You'll see. Go!"**

"GO BECKENDORF!" Everyone cheered.

**Beckendorf ducked behind a tree while I turned and yelled at the dragon, "Hey, lizardlips!**

"Lizardlips?" Leo asked.

**Your breath smells like gasoline!"**

"You know for a dragon, that could be a complement." Katie said.

**The dragon spewed black smoke out of its nostrils. It thundered toward me, shaking the**

**ground.**

**"Come on!" Annabeth grabbed my hand. We ran for the backside of the cliff. The**

**dragon followed.**

**"We have to hold it here," Annabeth said. The three of us readied our swords.**

**The dragon reached us and lurched to a stop. It tilted its head like it couldn't believe**

**we'd be so foolish as to fight. Now that it had caught us, there were so many different**

**ways it could kill us it probably couldn't decide.**

"That really makes us feel so much better." Nico said.

**We scattered as its first blast of fire turned the ground where we'd been standing into a**

**smoking pit of ashes.**

**Then I saw Beckendorf above us—at the top of the cliff—and I understood what he was**

**trying to do. He needed a clear shot. I had to keep the dragon's attention.**

**"Yaaaah!" I charged. I brought Riptide down on the dragon's foot and sliced off a talon.**

**Its head creaked as it looked down at me. It seemed more confused than angry,**

**like, ****Why did you cut off my toe?**

"That part was kinda stupid." Annabeth laughed.

**Then it opened its mouth, baring a hundred razor-sharp teeth.**

**"Percy!" Annabeth warned.**

**I stood my ground. "Just another second..."**

**"Percy!"**

**And just before the dragon struck, Beckendorf launched himself off the rocks and landed**

**on the dragon's neck.**

Everyone cheered once again.

**The dragon reared back and shot flames, trying to shake Beckendorf, but Beckendorf**

**held on like a cowboy as the monster bucked around. I watched in fascination as he**

**ripped open a panel at the base of the dragon's head and yanked a wire.**

**Instantly, the dragon froze. Its eyes went dim. Suddenly it was only the statue of a**

**dragon, baring its teeth at the sky.**

"Way to go Beckendorf!" A lot of people said.

**Beckendorf slid down the dragon's neck. He collapsed at its tail, breathing heavily.**

**"Charlie!" Silena ran to him and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. "You did it!"**

**Annabeth came up to me and squeezed my shoulder. "Hey, seaweed brain, you okay?"**

**"Fine... I guess." I was thinking how close I'd come to being chopped into demigod hash**

**in the dragon's mouth.**

**"You did great." Annabeth's smile was a lot nicer than that stupid dragon's.**

**"You, too," I said shakily. "So... what do we do with the automaton?"**

**Beckendorf wiped his forehead. Silena was still fussing over his cuts and bruises, and**

**Beckendorf looked pretty distracted by the attention.**

**"We—uh—I don't know," he said. "Maybe we can fix it, get it to guard the camp, but**

**that could take months."**

**"Worth trying," I said. I imagined having that bronze dragon in our fight against the**

**titan lord Kronos. His monsters would think twice about attacking camp if they had to**

**face ****that ****thing. On the other hand, if the dragon decided to go berserk again and attack**

**the campers, that would pretty much stink.**

**"Did you see all the treasure in the Ant Hill?" Beckendorf asked. "The magic weapons?**

**The armor? That stuff could really help us."**

**"And the bracelets," Silena said. "And the necklaces."**

**I shuddered, remembering the smell of those tunnels. "I think that's an adventure for**

**later. It would take an army of demigods even to get close to that treasure."**

**"Maybe," Beckendorf said. "But what a treasure..."**

**Silena studied the frozen dragon. "Charlie, that was the bravest thing I ever saw—you**

**jumping on that dragon."**

**Beckendorf swallowed. "Um... yeah. So... will you go to the fireworks with me?"**

**Silena's face lit up. "Of course, you big dummy! I thought you'd never ask!"**

**Beckendorf suddenly looked a whole lot better. "Well let's get back, then! I bet the**

**capture-the-flag is over."**

**I had to go barefoot, because the acid had eaten completely through my shoe. When I**

**kicked it off I realized the goo had soaked into my sock and turned my foot red and raw.**

**I leaned against Annabeth, and she helped me limp through the woods.**

**Beckendorf and Silena walked ahead of us, holding hands, and we gave them some**

**space.**

**Watching them, with my arm around Annabeth for support, I felt pretty uncomfortable. I**

**silently cursed Beckendorf for being so brave, and I don't mean for facing the dragon.**

**After three years, he'd finally gotten the courage to ask Silena Beauregard out. It wasn't**

**fair.**

**"You know," Annabeth said as we struggled along, "it wasn't the bravest thing ****I've ****ever**

**seen."**

**I blinked. Had she been reading my thoughts?**

**"Um... what do you mean?"**

**Annabeth gripped my wrist as we stumbled through a shallow creek. "You stood up to**

**the dragon so Beckendorf would have his chance to jump—now ****that ****was brave."**

**"Or pretty stupid."**

**"Percy, you're a brave guy," she said. "Just take the compliment. I swear, it is so hard?"**

"It was so hard." Annabeth said.

**We locked eyes. Our faces were, like, two inches apart.**

Annabeth blushed.

**My chest felt a little funny, like**

**my heart was trying to do jumping jacks.**

**"So..." I said. "I guess Silena and Charlie are going to the fireworks together."**

**"I guess so," Annabeth agreed.**

**"Yeah," I said. "Um, about that—"**

"Somebody had to break the moment!" Thalia said.

**I don't know what I would've said, but just then, three of Annabeth's siblings from the**

**Athena cabin burst out of the bushes with their swords drawn. When they saw us, they**

**broke into grins.**

**"Annabeth!" one of them said. "Good job! Let's get these two to jail."**

**I stared at him. "The game's not over?"**

**The Athena camper laughed. "Not yet... but soon. Now that we've captured ****you****."**

**"Dude, come on," Beckendorf protested. "We got sidetracked. There was a dragon, and**

**the whole Ant Hill was attacking us."**

**"Uh-huh," said another Athena guy, clearly unimpressed. "Annabeth, great job**

**distracting them. Worked out perfectly. You want us to take them from here?"**

**Annabeth pulled away from me. I thought for sure she was going to give us a free walk**

**back to the border, but she drew her dagger and pointed it at me with a smile.**

**"Nah," she said. "Silena and I can get this. Come on, prisoners. Move it."**

**I stared at her, stunned. "You ****planned ****this? You planned this whole thing just to keep**

**us out of the game?"**

**"Percy, seriously, how could I have planned it? The dragon, the ants—you think I**

**could've figured all that out ahead of time?"**

**It didn't seem likely, but this was Annabeth. There was no telling with her. Then she**

**exchanged glances with Silena, and I could tell they were trying not to laugh.**

**"You—you little—" I started to say, but I couldn't think of a name strong enough to call**

**her.**

Annabeth smirked.

**I protested all the way to the jail, and so did Beckendorf.**

"That must've been annoying." Jason said.

"It was." Annabeth said.

**It was totally unfair to be**

**treated like prisoners after all we'd been through.**

**But Annabeth just smiled and put us in jail. As she was heading back to the front line,**

**she turned and winked. "See you at the fireworks?"**

**She didn't even wait for my answer before darting off into the woods.**

**I looked at Beckendorf. "Did she just... ask me out?"**

"You just got asked out." Connor said.

"Nice way to ask."

**He shrugged, completely disgusted. "Who knows with girls? Give me a haywire dragon,**

**any day."**

Leo laughed at this.

**So we sat together and waited while the girls won the game.**

"That's it" Jason said. "Anything else?"

"Well not really" Leo said. "Wait! There's another one!"

"What?" Nico asked.

"_Percy Jackson and the Golden chariot."_

**Stay tuned…**


	2. The Stolen Chariot

**The Stolen Chariot (yeah it's actually stolen. sorry)**

No one's POV:

The next day, the same gathering was around the ping pong table, waiting for Leo with the story.

"What's taking him?" Thalia asked.

"Who knows." said Nico and the moment he said it, Leo arrived, panting and clucthing the story in his hands.

"What took you so long, Leo?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"Well... I kinda got in a situation-"

"Just read the story!" Connor Stoll exclaimed. Without bothering to ask who would want to read, Leo took a seat and started.

**Percy Jackson and The Stolen Chariot**

"That charriot?" Katie asked.

"'fraid so." said Jake.

**I was in fifth period science class when I heard these noises outside.**

**SCRAWK! OW! SCREECH! HIYA!**

"Freaky noises." Nico stated.

"Hey, Nico you wanna hear them?" Thalia said. Nico just shrunk in his seat.

**Like somebody was getting attacked by**

**possessed poultry,**

"Possesed poultry?" Leo asked imagining how it looked like. The others gave a nasty look, meaning they were trying to imagine it too.

**and believe me, that's a situation I've been in before.**

Before Nico could say something, Annabeth gave him a glare warning him. He just shrank lower.

**Nobody else in class seemed to notice the commotion. We were doing a lab so**

**everybody was talking, and it wasn't hard for me to go look out the window**

**while I pretended to wash out my beaker.**

**Sure enough: there was a girl in alley with a sword drawn. She was tall and**

**muscular like a basketball player, with stringy brown hair and jeans and combat**

"Clarisse." Most of the campers said.

"If it isn't Clarisse, I'd like to know who it is." said Travis.

**boots and a denim jacket. She was hacking at a flock of black birds the size of**

**ravens. Feathers stuck out of her clothes in several places. A cut was bleeding**

**over her left eye. As I watched, one of the birds shot a feather like an arrow and**

**it lodged in her shoulder. She cursed and sliced at the bird, but it flew away.**

**Unfortunately, I recognized the girl. It was Clarisse, my old enemy from**

**demigod camp. Clarisse usually lived at Camp Half-Blood year-round. I had no**

**idea what she was doing on the Upper East Side in the middle of a school day,**

**but she was obviously in trouble. She wouldn't last much longer.**

**I did the only the thing I could.**

"**Mrs. White," I said, "can I go to the restroom? I feel like I'm going to puke."**

**You know how teachers tell you the magic word is please? That's not true. The**

**magic word is puke.**

"That's strange." Piper said.

"I like it." Nico said.

**It will get you out of class faster than anything else.**

"Thanks for the awesome advice, Percy." Connor said.

"**Go!" Mrs. White said.**

**I ran out the door, stripping off my safety goggles and gloves and lab apron. I**

**got out my best weapon – a ballpoint pen called Riptide.**

**Nobody stopped me in the halls. I exited by the gym. I got to the alley just in**

**time to see Clarisse smack a devil bird with the flat of her sword like she was**

**hitting a home run. The bird squawked and spiraled away, slamming against the**

**brick wall and sliding into a trash can. That still left a dozen more swarming**

**around her.**

"**Clarisse!" I yelled.**

**She glared at me in disbelief. "Percy? What are you doing –"**

"Imagine the tone of her voice when she actually said his name." said Travis, forgetting that Clarisse was in the room and looked like she was about to explode.

**She was cut short by a volley of feather arrows that zipped over her head and**

**impaled themselves in the wall.**

"**This is my school," I told her.**

"**Just my luck," Clarisse grumbled, but she was too busy fighting to complain**

**much.**

**I uncapped my pen, which grew into three-foot-long bronze sword, and joined**

**the battle, slashing at the birds and deflecting their feathers off my blade.**

**Together, Clarisse and I sliced and hacked until all the birds were reduced to**

**piles of feathers on ground.**

**We were both breathing hard. I had a few scratches, but nothing major. I pulled**

**a feather arrow out of my arm. It hadn't gone in very deep. As long as it wasn't**

**poison, I'd be okay. I took a baggie of ambrosia out of my jacket, where I always**

**kept it for emergencies, broke a piece in half and offered some to Clarisse.**

"**I don't need your help," she muttered, but she took the ambrosia.**

"Sure you don't." Travis said and Clarisse almost charged at him, if Chris didn't block her.

"One word out of you, Stoll." Clarisse said furious.

**We swallowed a few bites – not too much, since the food of the gods can burn**

**you to ashes if you overindulge. I guess that's why you don't see many fat gods.**

"We gotta research on fat gods" Leo snapped. "Jake, make a note."

"Who am I, your assistant?" Jake said.

**Anyway, in a few seconds our cuts and bruises had disappeared.**

**Clarisse sheathed her sword and brushed off her denim jacket. "Well . . .see you."**

"**Hold up!" I said. "You can't just run off."**

"**Sure I can."**

"She sure can." Nico said.

"Nico, have you noticed that Percy's NOT HERE?" Annabeth warned.

"Yeesh!"

"**What's going on? What are you doing away from camp? Why were those birds**

**after you?"**

**Clarisse pushed me, or tried to. I was too used to her tricks. I just sidestepped**

**and let her stumble past me.**

"**Come on," I said. "You just about got killed at my school. That makes it my business."**

"It doesn't." said Nico.

"Nico!"

"Alright, alright."

"**It does not!"**

"**Let me help."**

**She took a shaky breath. I got the feeling she really wanted to punch me out,**

**but at the same time there was a desperate look in her eyes, like she was in**

**serious trouble.**

"**It's my brothers," she said. "They're playing a prank on me."**

The Stoll brothers gasped.

"**Oh," I said, not really surprised. Clarisse had lots of siblings at Camp Half-Blood. All of them picked on each other. I guess that was no big surprise since**

**they were sons and daughters of the war god Ares. "Which brothers? Sherman?**

**Mark?"**

"**No," she said, sounding more afraid than I'd ever heard her. "My immortal**

**brothers. Phobos and Deimos."**

"We worship them!" The Stoll brothers said proudly.

The other campers just rolled their eyes.

**We sat on a bench at the park while Clarisse told me the story. I wasn't too**

**worried about getting back to school. Mrs. White would just assume the nurse sent me home, and sixth period was shop class. Mr. Bell never took attendance.**

"His teachers have weird names." Jason said.

"**So let me get this straight," I said. "You took your dad's car for a joy ride and**

**now it's missing."**

"**It's not a car," Clarisse growled. "It's a war chariot! And he told me to take it out. It's like . . . a test. I'm supposed to bring it back at sunset. But –"**

"**Your brothers carjacked you."**

"Car-jacked." Jake repeated.

"**Chariot-jacked me,"**

"Chariot-jacked." Jake repeated again while laughing.

**she corrected. "They're his regular charioteers, see. And**

**they don't like anybody else getting to drive. So they stole the chariot from me**

**and chased me off with those stupid arrow-throwing birds."**

"**Your dad's pets?"**

**She nodded miserably. "They guard his temple. Anyway, if I don't find the**

**chariot . . ."**

**She looked like she was about to lose it. I didn't blame her. I'd seen her dad**

**Ares get mad before, and it was not a pretty sight. If Clarisse failed him, he**

**would come down hard on her. Real hard.**

"**I'll help you," I said.**

**She scowled. "Why would you? I'm not your friend."**

"She does have a point there." said Nico.

**I couldn't argue with that. Clarisse had been mean to me a million times, but still, I didn't like the idea of her or anybody else getting beat up by Ares. I was**

**trying to figure out how to explain that to her that when a guy's voice said, "Aw, look. I think she's been crying!"**

**A teenage dude was leaning against the telephone pole. He was dressed in**

**ratty jeans, a black T-shirt and a leather jacket with a bandana over his hair. A**

**knife was stuck in his belt. He had eyes the color of flames.**

"**Phobos." Clarisse balled her fists. "Where's the chariot, you jerk?"**

"Look who's talking." Travis said while backing away from Clarisse, who seemed to be clawing her way out of Chris' arms.

"It slipped!" Travis defended.

"So was your life!" Clarisse shouted.

"Now you done it." Connor said.

"**You lost it," he teased. "Don't ask me."**

"**You little –" Clarisse drew her sword and charged, but he disappeared as she**

**swung and her blade bit into the telephone pole.**

**Phobos appeared on the bench next to me. **

"Cheater." Clarisse mumbled while calming down.

**He was laughing, but he stopped when I stuck Riptide's point against his throat.**

"**You'd better return that chariot," I told him. "Before I get mad."**

"I don't know if I should be laughing or afraid." Thalia said smirking.

**He sneered and tried to look tough, or as tough as you can with a sword under**

**your chin. "Who's your little boyfriend, Clarisse? You have to get help fighting**

**your battles now?"**

Connor, Leo and Nico were snikering. They couldn't laugh out loud since they saw what Clarisse almost did to Travis.

"**He's not my boyfriend!" Clarisse tugged her sword out of the telephone pole.**

"**He's not even my friend. That's Percy Jackson."**

**Something changed in Phobos's expression. He looked surprised, maybe even**

**nervous.**

"Yeah right." Nico said.

"**The son of Poseidon? The one who made Dad angry? Oh, this is too**

**good, Clarisse. You're hanging out with a sworn enemy?"**

"**I'm not hanging out with him!"**

**Phobos's eyes glowed bright red. Clarisse screamed. She swatted the air as if**

**she were being attacked by invisible bugs.**

"If it was bugs, this will be too good." said Leo.

"**Please, no!"**

"**What are you doing to her?" I demanded.**

**Clarisse backed up into the street, swinging her sword wildly.**

"**Stop it!" I told Phobos. I dug my sword a little deeper against his throat, but he**

**simply vanished, reappearing back at the telephone pole.**

"**Don't get so excited, Jackson," Phobos said. "I'm just showing her what she**

**fears." The glow faded from his eyes.**

**Clarisse collapsed, breathing hard. "You creep," she gasped. "I'll – I'll get you."**

**Phobos turned toward me. "How about you, Percy Jackson? What do you fear?**

"Please we all want to know." Chris said.

**I'll find out, you know. I always do."**

"**Give the chariot back." I tried to keep my voice even. "I took on your dad once.**

**You don't scare me."**

"Of course not." Annabeth breathed.

**Phobos laughed. "Nothing to fear but fear itself. Isn't that what they say? Well,**

**let me tell you a little secret, half-blood. I am fear. **

"Not really a secret." said Piper.

**If you want to find the chariot,**

**come and get it. It's across the water. You'll find it where the little wild animals**

**live – just the sort of place you belong."**

**He snapped his fingers and disappeared in a curtain of yellow vapor.**

**Now I've got to tell you, I've met a lot of godlings and monsters I didn't like, but**

**Phobos took the prize. I didn't like bullies. I'd never been in the "A" crowd at**

**school, so I'd spent most of my life standing up to punks who tried to frighten**

**me and my friends. The way Phobos laughed at me and made Clarisse collapse**

**just by looking at her . . . I wanted to teach this guy a lesson.**

**I helped Clarisse up. Her face was still beaded with sweat. "Now are you ready**

**for help?" I asked.**

**We took the subway, keeping a lookout for more attacks, but nothing bothered**

**us. As we rode, Clarisse told me about Phobos and Deimos.**

"**They're minor gods," she said. "Phobos is fear. Deimos is terror."**

"Yeah!" The Stolls shouted.

"Keep it down!" Katie snapped.

"**What's the difference?"**

**She frowned. "Deimos is bigger and uglier, I guess. He's good at freaking out entire crowds. Phobos is more, like, personal. He can get inside your head."**

"**That's where they get the word phobia?"**

"**Yeah," she grumbled. "He's so proud of that. All those phobias named after**

**him. The jerk."**

"Okay, now I really hate him." Thalia muttered.

"**So why don't they want you driving the chariot?"**

"**It's usually a ritual just for Ares's sons when they turn fifteen. I'm the first**

**daughter to get a shot in a long time."**

"**Good for you."**

"**Tell that to Phobos and Deimos. They hate me. I've got to get the chariot back**

**to the temple."**

"**Where is the temple?"**

"**Pier 86. The Intrepid."**

"**Oh." It made sense, now that I thought about it. I'd never actually been on**

**board the old aircraft carrier, but I knew they used it as some kind of military**

**museum. It probably had a bunch of guns and bombs and other dangerous**

**toys.**

"Toys?" Clarisse asked.

**Just the kind of place a war god would want to hang out.**

"**We've got maybe four hours before sunset," I guessed. "That should be**

**enough time if we can find the chariot."**

"**But what did Phobos mean, 'over the water'? We're on an island, for Zeus's sake. That could be any direction!"**

"**He said something about wild animals," I remembered. "Little wild animals."**

"**A zoo?"**

**I nodded. A zoo over the water could be the one in Brooklyn, or maybe . . .**

"There's a zoo over the water?" Katie asked.

**someplace harder to get to, with little wild animals. Some place nobody would**

**ever think to look for a war chariot.**

"**Staten Island," I said. "They've got a small zoo."**

"**Maybe," Clarisse said. "That sounds like the kind of out-of-the-way place**

**Phobos and Deimos would stash something. But if we're wrong -"**

"**We don't have time to be wrong."**

**We hoped off the train at Times Square and caught the 1 downtown toward the**

**ferry terminal.**

**We boarded the Staten Island Ferry at three-thirty, along with a bunch of**

**tourists who crowded the railings of the top deck, snapping pictures as we**

**passed the Statue of Liberty.**

"**He modeled that after his mom," I said, looking up at the statue.**

**Clarisse frowned at me. "Who?"**

"**Bartholdi," I said. "The dude who made the Statue of Liberty. He was a son of**

**Athena and he designed it to look like his mom. That's what Annabeth told me,**

**anyway."**

"He actually learned something." Annabeth said smiling

**Clarisse rolled her eyes. Annabeth was my best friend and a huge nut when it**

**came to architecture and monuments. I guess her egghead facts rubbed off on**

**me sometimes.**

Annabeth smile turned to an angry face "Seaweed Brain." She muttered.

"**Useless," Clarisse said. "If it doesn't help you fight, it's useless information."**

"For an Ares kid." Annabeth said still angry.

**I could've argued with her, but just then the ferry lurched like it had hit a rock.**

**Tourists spilled forward, tumbling into each other. Clarisse and I ran to the front**

**of the boat. The water below us started to boil. Then the head of a sea serpent**

**erupted from the bay.**

**The monster was at least as big as the boat. It was gray and green with a head**

**like a crocodile and razor-sharp teeth. It smelled . . . well, like something that**

**had just come up from the bottom of New York Harbor. Riding on its neck was a**

**bulky guy in black Greek armor. His face was covered with ugly scars and he**

**held a javelin in his hand.**

"Deimos!" Clarisse hissed.

"Deimos!" The Stolls shouted.

"Will you shut up?" Katie yelled.

"**Deimos!" Clarisse yelled.**

"**Hello, sister!" His smile was almost as horrible as the serpent's. "Care to play?"**

"I like to play with your head."Clarisse muttered.

**The monster roared. Tourists screamed and scattered. I don't know exactly**

**what they saw. The Mist usually prevents mortals from seeing monsters in their**

**true form, but whatever they saw, they were terrified.**

"**Leave them alone!" I yelled.**

"**Or what, son of the sea god?" Deimos sneered. "My brother tells me you're a**

**wimp! Besides, I love terror. I live on terror!"**

"Because he is terror." said Leo.

**He spurred the sea serpent into head-butting the ferry, which sloshed**

**backwards. Alarms blared. Passengers fell over each other trying to get away.**

**Deimos laughed with delight.**

"**That's it," I grumbled. "Clarisse, grab on."**

"**What?"**

"**Grab on to my neck. We're going for a ride."**

**She didn't protest. She grabbed onto me and I said, "One, two, three – JUMP!"**

**We leaped off the top deck and straight into the bay, but we were only under for**

**a moment. I felt the power of the ocean surging through me. I willed the water to**

**swirl around me, building force, until we burst out of the bay on top of a thirtyfoot-**

**high water spout. I steered us straight toward the monster.**

"Go Percy!." Nico cheered.

"**You think you can tackle Deimos?" I yelled to Clarisse.**

"**I'm on it!" she said. "Just get me within ten feet."**

**We barreled toward the serpent. Just as it bared its fangs, I swerved the water**

**spout to one side and Clarisse jumped. She crashed into Deimos and both of**

**them toppled into the sea.**

**The serpent came after me. I turned the water spout to face him then**

**summoned all my power and willed the water to even greater heights.**

**WHOOOOM!**

**Ten thousand gallons of salt water crashed into the monster. **

Now everyone was cheering and clapping as Leo was reading and he could barely hear the words coming out of his mouth.

**I leaped over its**

**head, uncapped Riptide and slashed with all my might at the creature's neck.**

**The monster roared. Green blood spouted from the wound and the serpent**

**sank beneath the waves.**

**I dove underwater and watched as it retreated back to the open sea. That's one**

**good thing about sea serpents. They're big babies when it comes to getting**

**hurt.**

**Clarisse surfaced near me, spluttering and coughing. I swam over and grabbed**

**her.**

"**Did you get Deimos?" I asked.**

**Clarisse shook her head. "The coward disappeared as we were wrestling. But I'm sure we'll see him again. Phobos, too."**

**Tourists were still running around the ferry in a panic, but it didn't look like**

**anybody was hurt. The boat didn't seem damaged. I decided we shouldn't stick**

**around. I held on to Clarisse's arm and willed the waves to carry us toward**

**Staten Island.**

"Imagine, Percy, surfing on a wave." Thalia said laughing.

Annabeth couldn't help but laugh too.

**In the west, the sun was going down over the Jersey shore. We were running**

**out of time.**

**I'd never spent much time on Staten Island, and I found it was a lot bigger than I**

**thought and not much fun to walk. The streets curved around confusingly and**

**everything seemed to be uphill. I was dry (I never got wet in the ocean unless I**

**wanted to)**

"That is cool in some way." Jason said.

**but Clarisse's clothes were still sopping wet so she left mucky**

**footprints all over the sidewalk and the bus driver wouldn't let us on the bus.**

"**We'll never make it in time," she sighed.**

"**Stop thinking that way." I tried to sound upbeat, but I was starting to have**

**doubts, too. I wished we had reinforcements. Two demigods against two minor**

**gods was not an even match, and when we met Phobos and Deimos together, I**

**wasn't sure what we were going to do. I kept remembering what Phobos had**

**said, How about you, Percy Jackson? What do you fear?**

"I think I have an idea." Nico muttered.

"Me too." Said Connor with an obvious smirk forming in his lips.

**I'll find out, you know.**

**After dragging ourselves halfway up the island past a lot of suburban houses**

**and a couple of churches and a McDonalds, we finally saw a sign that said**

**ZOO. We turned the corner and followed this curvy street with some woods on**

**one side until we came to the zoo entrance.**

**The lady at the ticket booth looked at us suspiciously,**

"Yeah because two children, alone, with one of them soaking wet and going to a zoo will be freaky." Travis stated.

"We already know that, idiot." His brother pulled him back to his chair.

**but thank the gods I had**

**enough cash to get us inside.**

**We walked around the reptile house and Clarisse stopped in her tracks.**

"**There it is."**

**It was sitting at a crossroads between the petting zoo and the sea otter pond: a**

**large golden and red chariot tethered to four black horses.**

"And no one noticed?" asked Piper.

"Once again, obviously-"

But Jason glared at him.

**The chariot was**

**decorated with amazing detail. It would've been beautiful if all the pictures**

**hadn't shown people dying painful deaths. The horses were breathing fire out of**

**their nostrils.**

**Families with strollers walked right past the chariot like it didn't exist. I guess the**

**Mist must've been really strong around it, because the chariot's only**

**camouflage was a handwritten note taped to one of the horses' chests that said,**

**OFFICIAL ZOO VEHICLE.**

"**Where are Phobos and Deimos?" Clarisse muttered, drawing her sword.**

**I couldn't see them anywhere, but this had to be a trap.**

**I concentrated on the horses. Usually I could talk to horses, since my dad**

**Poseidon had created them. I said, Hey. Nice fire-breathing horses. Come here!**

**One of horses whinnied disdainfully. I could understand his thoughts, all right.**

**He called me some names I can't repeat.**

"Ouch, dude" said Leo.

"**I'll try to get the reins," Clarisse said. "The horses know me. Cover me."**

"**Right." I wasn't sure how I was supposed to cover her with a sword,**

Leo, Nico, and the Stolls were working hard not to laugh.

**but I kept**

**my eyes peeled as Clarisse approached the chariot. She walked around the**

**horses, almost tip-toeing.**

**She froze as a lady with a three-year-old girl passed by. The girl said, "Pony on**

**fire!"**

"That girl is so lucky that Clarisse didn't pulverize her." Travis mumbled quietly.

"**Don't be silly, Jessie," the mother said in a dazed voice. "That's an official zoo**

**vehicle."**

**The little girl tried to protest but the mother grabbed her hand and they kept**

**walking. Clarisse got closer to the chariot. Her hand was six inches from the rail**

**when the horses reared up,**

"Ooh so close." Jake muttred.

**whinnying and breathing flames. Phobos and**

**Deimos appeared in the chariot, both of them now dressed in pitch-black battle**

**armor. Phobos grinned, his red eyes glowing. Deimos's scared face looked**

**even more horrible up close.**

"**The hunt is on!" Phobos yelled. Clarisse stumbled back as he lashed the**

**horses and charged the chariot straight toward me.**

**Now I'd like to tell you that I did something heroic,**

"That would be a miracle." Thalia said.

**like stand up against a raging**

**team of fire-breathing horses with only my sword. The truth is, I ran. I jumped**

**over a trash bin and an exhibit fence, but there was no way I could outrun the**

**chariot. It crashed through the fence right behind me, plowing down everything**

**in its path.**

"**Percy, look out!" Clarisse yelled, like I needed somebody to tell me that.**

All eyes fell on Clarisse, but she didn't say a word.

**I jumped and landed on a rock island in the middle of the otter exhibit. I willed a**

**column of water out of the pond and doused the horses, temporarily**

**extinguishing their flames and sending them into confusion. The otters weren't**

**really happy with me. They chattered and barked and I figured I'd better get off**

**their island quick before I had crazed sea mammals after me, too.**

"Yep, everyone's chasing Percy." Nico stated.

**I ran as Phobos cursed and tried to get his horses under control. Clarisse took**

**the opportunity to jump on Deimos's back just as he was lifting his javelin. Both**

**of them went tumbling out of the chariot as it lurched forward.**

**I could hear Deimos and Clarisse starting to fight, sword on sword, but I didn't**

**have time to worry about it because Phobos was riding after me again. I**

**sprinted toward the aquarium with the chariot right behind me.**

"**Hey, Percy!" Phobos taunted. "I've got something for you!"**

**I glanced back and saw the chariot melting, the horses turning to steel and**

**folding into each other like clay figures being crumpled. The chariot refashioned**

**itself into a black metal box with caterpillar treads and a turret and a long gun**

**barrel. A tank. I recognized it from this research report I had to do for history**

**class. Phobos was grinning at me from the top of a World War II Panzer.**

"Percy fears this?" Chris looked stunned.

"Course not, Chris." Connor said trying not to insult his half-brother in front of Clarisse.

"**Say cheese!" he said.**

**I rolled to one side as the gun fired.**

**KA-BOOOOM! A souvenir kiosk exploded, sending fuzzy animals and plastic**

**cups and disposable cameras in every direction. As Phobos re-aimed his gun, I**

**got to my feet and dived into the aquarium.**

**I wanted to surround myself with water. That always increased my power.**

**Besides, it was possible Phobos couldn't fit the chariot inside the doorway. Of**

**course, if he blasted through it, that wouldn't help . . .**

**I ran through the rooms, washed in weird blue light from the fish tank exhibits.**

**Cuttlefish, clown fish, and eels all stared at me as I raced past. I could hear their**

**little minds whispering, Son of the sea god! Son of the sea god! It's great when**

**you're a celebrity to squids.**

"That would be great." Said Leo sarcastically.

**I stopped at the back of the aquarium and listened. I heard nothing. And then . .**

**. Vroom, Vroom. A different kind of engine.**

**I watched in disbelief as Phobos came riding through the aquarium on a Harley-**

**Davison. I'd seen this motorcycle before: its black flame-decorated engine, its**

**shotgun holsters, its leather seat that looked like human skin. This was the**

**same motorcycle Ares had ridden when I first met him, but it had never**

**occurred to me that it was just another form of his war chariot.**

"**Hello, loser," Phobos said, pulling a huge sword out of its sheath. "Time to be**

**scared."**

**I raised my own sword, determined to face him, but then Phobos eyes glowed**

"Moment of truth." Nico looked excited.

**brighter and I made the mistake of looking into them.**

**Suddenly I was in a different place. I was at Camp Half-Blood, my favorite place**

**in the world, and it was in flames.**

"Of course." Connor looked okay while the other campers had a little fear in their eyes.

**The woods were on fire. The cabins were**

**smoking. The dining pavilion's Greek columns had crumbled and the Big House**

**was a smoldering ruin. My friends were on their knees pleading with me.**

**Annabeth, Grover, all the other campers.**

**Save us, Percy! they wailed. Make the choice!**

"Yeah I don't think I'll drop to my knees and beg Percy to make his decision." Travis snorted.

"Way ahead of you bro." his brother annouced.

**I stood paralyzed. This was the moment I had always dreaded: the prophecy**

**that was supposed to come about when I was sixteen. I would make a choice**

**that would save or destroy Mount Olympus.**

**Now the moment was here, and I had no idea what to do. The camp was**

**burning. My friends all looked at me begging for help. My heart pounded. I**

**couldn't move. What if I did the wrong thing?**

"Actually the choice wasn't at all-"

"We know what happened."

**Then I heard the voices of the aquarium fish: Son of the sea god! Wake!**

**Suddenly I felt the power of the ocean all around me again, hundreds of gallons**

**of salt water, thousands of fish trying to get my attention. I wasn't at camp. This**

**was an illusion. Phobos was showing me my deepest fear.**

"This is good information." The Hermes kids nodded.

**I blinked, and saw Phobos's blade coming down toward my head. I raised**

**Riptide and blocked the blow just before it could cut me in two.**

**I counterattacked and stabbed Phobos in the arm. Golden ichor, the blood of**

**the gods, soaked through his shirt.**

**Phobos growled and slashed at me. I parried easily. Without his power of fear,**

**Phobos was nothing. He wasn't even a decent fighter.**

"That is an insult against Ares, but he deserved it." Annabeth said.

**I pressed him back,**

**swiped at his face and gave him a cut across the cheek. The angrier he got, the**

**clumsier he got. I couldn't kill him. He was immortal. But you wouldn't have**

**known that from his expression. The fear god looked afraid.**

"Where am I?" Leo asked.

**Finally I kicked him backwards against the water fountain. His sword skittered**

**into the ladies room. I grabbed the straps of his armor and pulled him up to face**

**me.**

"**You're going to disappear now," I told him. "You're going to stay out of**

**Clarisse's way. And if I see you again, I'm going to give you a bigger scar in a**

**much more painful place!"**

"Don't say it." Annabeth warned before Connor could say his insult.

**He gulped. "There will be a next time, Jackson!"**

**And he dissolved into yellow vapor.**

**I turned toward the fish exhibits. "Thanks, guys."**

"Freaky."

**Then I looked at Ares's motorcycle. I'd never ridden an all-powerful Harley-**

**Davison war chariot before, but how hard could it be? I hopped on, started the**

**ignition,**

"All he needs are some shades, a little bit more muscle and he'll look like a tiny Ares." Said Nico.

"I'm not gonna say anything to that." Leo replied.

"I am" Connor volounteered

**and rode out of the aquarium to help Clarisse.**

**I had no trouble finding her. I just followed the path of destruction. Fences were**

**knocked down. Animals were running free. Badgers and lemurs were checking**

**out the popcorn machine. A fat-looking leopard was lounging on the park bench**

"Imagine that." Said Chris.

**with a bunch of pigeon feathers around him.**

"I will gladly imagine that." Travis said chuckling.

**I parked the motorcycle next to the petting zoo and there were Deimos and**

**Clarisse in the goat area. Clarisse was on her knees. I ran forward but stopped**

**suddenly when I saw how Deimos had changed form. He was Ares now – the**

**tall god of war, dressed in black leather and sunglasses, his whole body**

**smoking with anger as he raised his fist over Clarisse.**

"**You failed me again!" the war god bellowed. "I told you what would happen!"**

**He tried to strike her but Clarisse scrambled away, shrieking, "No! Please!"**

"mmm." Cried Connor.

"What wrong bro?" Travis and Chris said at the same time.

"I'm trying so hard not to laugh."

"**Foolish girl!"**

"**Clarisse!" I yelled. "It's an illusion. Stand up to him!"**

**Deimos's form flickered. "I am Ares!" he insisted. "And you are a worthless girl! I**

**knew you would fail me. Now you will suffer my wrath."**

**I wanted to charge in and fight Deimos, but somehow I knew it wouldn't help.**

**Clarisse had to do it. This was her worst fear. She had to overcome it for**

**herself.**

"Found it." Nico stated.

"**Clarisse!" I said. She glanced over and I tried to hold her eyes. "Stand up to**

**him!" I said. "He's all talk. Get up!"**

"**I – I can't."**

"**Yes, you can. You're a warrior. Get up!"**

**She hesitated. Then she began to stand.**

"**What are you doing?" Ares bellowed. "Grovel for mercy, girl!"**

**Clarisse took a shaky breath. Very quietly, she said, "No."**

"Yeah! Go Clarisse!" Chris shouted.

"**WHAT?"**

**She raised her sword. "I'm tired of being scared of you."**

**Deimos struck, but Clarisse deflected the blow. She staggered backward but**

**didn't fall.**

"**You're not Ares," Clarisse said. "You're not even a good fighter."**

"I'm still curious about that."

**Deimos growled in frustration. When he struck again, Clarisse was ready. She**

**disarmed him and stabbed him in the shoulder – not deep, but deep enough to**

**hurt even a godling.**

**He yowled in pain and began to glow.**

"**Look away!" I told Clarisse.**

**We averted our eyes as Deimos exploded into golden light – his true godly form**

– **and disappeared.**

"That was faster than I expected." Said Jason.

**We were alone except for the petting zoo goats who were tugging at our**

**clothes, looking for snacks.**

**The motorcycle had turned back into a horse-drawn chariot.**

**Clarisse looked at me cautiously. She wiped the straw and sweat off her face.**

"**You didn't see that. You didn't see any of that."**

"Uh, yeah he did."

**I grinned. "You did good."**

**She glanced at the sky, which was turning red behind the trees.**

"**Get in the chariot," Clarisse said. "We've still got a long ride to make."**

**A few minutes later, we reached the Staten Island ferry building and**

**remembered something obvious: We were on an island. The ferry didn't take**

**cars. Or chariots. Or motorcycles.**

"**Great," Clarisse mumbled. "What do we do now? Ride this thing across the**

**Verrazano Bridge?"**

**We both knew there wasn't time. There were bridges to Queens and New**

**Jersey, but either way it would take hours to drive the chariot back to**

**Manhattan, even if we could fool people into thinking it was a regular car.**

**Then I got an idea. "We'll take the direct route."**

**Clarisse frowned. "What do you mean?"**

**I closed my eyes and began to concentrate. "Drive straight ahead. Go!"**

**Clarisse was so desperate she didn't hesitate. She yelled, "Hiya!" and lashed**

**the horses. They charged straight toward the water. I imagined the sea turning**

**solid, the waves becoming a firm surface all the way to Manhattan. The war**

**chariot hit the surf, the horses' fiery breath smoking all around us, and we rode**

**the tops of the waves straight across New York Harbor.**

"That would be cool to paint." Rachel said and Leo fell out of his chair.

"Stop doing that!"

"What?"

**We arrived at Pier 86 just as the sunset was fading to purple. The U.S.S.**

**Intrepid, temple of Ares, was a huge wall of grey metal in front of us, the flight**

**deck dotted with fighter aircraft and helicopters. We parked the chariot on the**

**ramp and I jumped out. For once, I was glad to be on dry land. Concentrating**

**on keeping the chariot above the waves had been one of the hardest things I'd**

**ever done. I was exhausted.**

"**I'd better get out of here before Ares arrives," I said.**

**Clarisse nodded. "He'd probably kill you on sight."**

"What if Percy just drops dead in front of Ares?" Connor said scratching his chin.

"**Congratulations," I said. "I guess you passed your driving test."**

**She wrapped the reins around her hand. "About what you saw, Percy. What I**

**was afraid of, I mean –"**

"**I won't tell anybody."**

"Please, no need." Said Jake comfortably.

**She looked at me uncomfortably. "Did Phobos scare you?"**

"**Yeah. I saw the camp in flames. I saw my friends all pleading for my help, and I**

**didn't know what to do. For a second, I couldn't move. I was paralyzed. I know**

**how you felt."**

**She lowered her eyes. "I, uh . . . I guess I should say . . ." The words seemed tostick in her throat.**

"Say it, say it!"

**I wasn't sure Clarisse had ever said thank you in her life.**

"Mmm."

"Watch it, Stoll!" Clariss growled.

"**Don't mention it," I told her.**

**I started to walk away, but she called out, "Percy?"**

"**Yeah?"**

"**When you, uh, had that vision about your friends . . ."**

"**You were one of them," I promised. "Just don't tell anybody, okay? Or I'd have**

**to kill you."**

**A faint smile flickered across her face. "See you later."**

"**See you."**

**And I headed off toward the subway. It had been a long day, and I was ready to**

**get home.**

"The end." Leo finished.

"Anything else, cuz I don't want to begin working on the Argo again." Nico mumbled.

"Yeah, _The Sword of Hades."_

"Oh man." Nico and Thalia said in unison.

_**Stay tuned **_

**and sorry for the wait.**


	3. The Sword of Hades part 1

**Sword of Hades (part 1)**

**No one's POV:**

"What's taking him so long?" Annabeth asked. Everyone was waiting silently for Nico.

"Awkward." Connor said to his brother. Suddenly Nico appeared out of nowhere by shadow travel, which made a few people jump.

"I said stop that!" Leo exclaimed. A few people waited for Nico to explain why he was late, Annabeth asked him,

"Where have you been?"

"Some…where"

"We know, but were you late,-" But before Clarisse could finish her sentence, Chris cupped a hand on her mouth.

"Not the time for those words, Clarisse."

"I thought you would start without me."

"Well we didn't but that doesn't mean we care about you now sit down and read since you were late." Annabeth handed him the book and without protesting, Nico started.

**Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades**

"Hades has a sword?" asked Jake still looking at Nico.

"Just wait for it."

**Christmas in the Underworld was NOT my idea.**

"Not mine either." Nico shivered.

**If I'd known what was coming, I would've called in sick. I could've avoided an army of**

**demons, a fight with a Titan and a trick that almost got my friends and me cast into**

**eternal darkness.**

**But no, I had to take my stupid English exam. So there I was the last day of the winter**

**semester at Goode High School, sitting in the auditorium with all the other freshmen and**

**trying to finish my I-didn't-read-it-but-I'm-pretending-like-I-did essay**

"How do put a face that means you didn't read it?"

**on A Tale of Two**

**Cities, when Mrs. O'Leary burst onto the stage, barking like crazy.**

Nobody reacted on this like it was normal. Leo however was confused.

"Who's Mrs. O'Leary?" He asked but no one answered.

"What do you think, Leo?" Jason replied.

**Mrs. O'Leary is my pet hellhound.**

"Oh" Leo face turned to a grin. "Cool"

**She's a shaggy black monster the size of a Hummer**

**with razor fangs, steel-sharp claws and glowing red eyes. She's really sweet, but usually**

**she stays at Camp Half-Blood, our demigod training camp. I was a little surprised to see**

**her on stage, trampling over the Christmas trees and Santa's elves and the rest of the**

**Winter Wonderland set.**

"What a waste." Katie said.

**Everyone looked up. I was sure the other kids were going to panic and run for the exits,**

**but they just started snickering and laughing. A couple of the girls said, "Awww, cute!''**

**Our English teacher, Dr Boring (I'm not kidding; that's his real name),**

Everyone started laughing.

"You see?... weird." Jason said between laughs.

"Poor guy." The Stoll brothers said in unison, they were laughing the hardest.

"I'm telling you that is really freaky, even in the demigod world." Jake pointed out.

**adjusted his**

**glasses and frowned.**

"**All right," he said. "Whose poodle?"**

"The mist is weird, hellhound to poodle?" Said Chris.

**I sighed in relief. Thank gods for the Mist, the magical veil that keeps humans from**

**seeing things the way they really are. I'd seen it bend reality plenty of times before, but**

**Mrs. O'Leary as a poodle? That was impressive.**

"I told you."

"**Um... my poodle, sir," I spoke up.**

"Ha, Percy has a poodle." Clarisse said teasingly.

"**Sorry, it must have followed me."**

**Somebody behind me started whistling ****Mary had a Little Lamb****.**

The Stolls started whistling too.

**More kids cracked up.**

"**Enough!" Dr. Boring snapped.**

"It makes me laugh every time it's mentioned." Said Leo, still chuckling.

"**Percy Jackson, this is a final exam, I cannot have**

**poodles..."**

**WOOF!**

**Mrs. O'Leary's bark shook the auditorium. She wagged her tail knocking over a few more**

**elves. Then she crouched on her front paws and stared at me, like she wanted me to**

**follow.**

"**Uh… I'll get her out of here, Dr. Boring,"**

"Stop it!"

**I promised. "I'm finished anyway."**

**I closed my test booklet and ran toward the stage. Mrs. O'Leary bounded for the exit**

**and I followed. The other kids still laughing and calling out behind me, ****See ya, poodle**

**boy!**

"New name for Percy." Connor said while taking note on a tiny notebook.

"What's that a notebook for nicknames to tease with?" asked Jake.

"Yep."

"We have seven pages back-to-back for Clarisse." Travis said proudly.

**Mrs. O'Leary ran down East 81st Street toward the river.**

"**Slow down," I yelled. "Where are you going?"**

**I got some strange looks from pedestrians, but this was New York, so a boy chasing a**

**poodle probably wasn't the weirdest thing they ever seen.**

"Of course it's not." Said Annabeth.

**Mrs. O'Leary kept well ahead of me. She turn to bark every once in a while, as if to say,**

**Move it, Slowpoke!**

"Move it, slowpoke!" Chris shouted.

"Shut up, Chris." Katie rolled her eyes like she does to the Stolls.

**She went three blocks north, straight into Carl Shirts Park. By the**

**time I caught up with her, she leaped an iron fence and disappeared into the huge**

**topiary wall of snow-covered bushes.**

"**Oh, come on," I complained.**

**I haven't enough chance to grab my coat back at school. I was already freezing but I**

**climbed the fence and plunged into the frozen shrubbery.**

"Shrubbery." Leo grinned.

"What about it?" Annabeht raised an eyebrow.

"It's just a funny word."

"Loser" Connor coughed.

**On the other side was a clearing, a half-acre of icy grass ringed with berry trees. Mrs.**

**O'Leary was sniffing around, wagging her tail like crazy. I didn't see anything out of the**

**ordinary. In front of me, the steel colored East River flowed sluggishly. White plumes**

**billowed from the rooftops in Queens. Behind me, the Upper East Side loomed cold and**

**silent. I wasn't sure why, but the back of my neck started to tingle. I took out my**

**ballpoint pen, and uncapped it. Immediately it grew into my bronze sword, Riptide, its**

**blade glowing faintly in the winter light.**

**Mrs. O'Leary lifted her head, her nostrils quivered.**

"**What is it, girl?" I whispered.**

**The bushes rustled and a golden deer burst through. When I say gold, I don't mean**

**yellow. This thing had metallic fur and horns that looked like genuine 14 karat.**

"Awesome!" many people said.

"We need to steal that!" The Hermes kids said.

**It**

**shimmered with an aura of golden light, making it almost too bright to look at. It was**

**probably the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.**

**Mrs. O'Leary licked her lips like she was thinking, Deer burgers!**

"That's disgusting" Piper said.

**Then, the bushes rustled again and a figure in a hooded parka leaped into the clearing,**

**an arrow notched in her bow. I raised my sword. The girl aimed at me, then froze.**

"Thalia?" Jason asked.

"What?"

"nevermind."

"**Percy?" She pushed back the silvery hood of her parka. Her black hair was longer than**

**I remembered, but I knew those bright blue eyes, and the silver tiara that marked her**

**as the first lieutenant of Artemis.**

"**Thalia?" I said. "What are you doing here?"**

"**Following the golden deer," she said, like that should be obvious.**

"Because it is, Seaweed Brain." Thalia muttered.

"**It's the sacred**

**animal of Artemis. I figured it was some sort of sign and um..." She nodded nervously at**

**Mrs. O'Leary. "You want to tell me what that's doing here?"**

"**That's my pet. Mrs. O'Leary, no!" Mrs. O'Leary was sniffing the deer and basically, not**

**respecting its personal space. **

"Aww! They like each other." Said Katie.

"Sure let's go with that." Chris snorted.

**The deer butted the hellhound on the nose. Pretty soon,**

**the two of them were playing a strange game of keep away around the clearing.**

"**Percy," Thalia frowned, "this can't be a coincidence. You and me ending up in the same**

**place, at the same time?"**

"No duh."

**She was right. Demigods didn't have coincidences.**

"No duh."

"Leo! Stop that!"

**Thalia was a good friend, but I**

**hadn't seen her in over a year and now suddenly, here we were.**

"**Some god is messing with us,"**

"I bet it's Aphrodite." Travis guessed.

"Aphrodite is a Percabeth fan." Piper said.

"What?" Annabeth asked.

"Nothing!"

**I guessed, "probably. Good to see you though."**

**She gave me a grudging smile. "Yeah. We get out of this in one piece, I'll buy you a**

**cheeseburger. How's Annabeth?"**

**Before I could answer, a cloud passed over the sun.**

"Wonder what he was gonna say." Said Jake.

"Since when do you care what Percy says?"

"Hey I also a Percabeth fan."

"What?"

"Nothing!"

**The golden deer shimmered and**

**disappeared, leaving Mrs. O'Leary barking at a pile of leaves. I readied my sword. Thalia**

**drew her bow. Instinctively, we stood back-to-back. A patch of darkness passed over**

**the clearing, and a boy tumbled out of it like he'd been tossed, landing in the grass at**

**our feet.**

"Zombie dude on cue."

"Shut up."

"**Ow!" he muttered.**

**He brushed off his aviator's jacket.**

"Oh I always wanted those." Jason smiled.

**He was about twelve years old with dark hair, jeans,**

**a black t-shirt, and a silver skull ring on his right hand.**

"EMO!" Connor coughed really loudly.

"You got a good taste in Emo fashion." Piper said to Nico, he just shrugged.

**A sword hung at his side.**

"**Nico?" I said.**

**Thalia's eyes widened, "Bianca's little brother?"**

"I never knew you had a sister." Said Piper.

"Don't bring it up." Annabeth muttered while Nico scowled.

**Nico scowled. I doubt he liked being announced as Bianca's little brother. His sister, a**

**Hunter of Artemis, had died a couple of years ago and it was still a sore subject for him.**

"He just had to bring it up." Nico continued to scowl.

"**Why did you bring me here?" he grumbled. "One minute I'm in a New Orleans'**

**graveyard, the next minute... is this New York? What in Hades' name am I doing in New**

**York?"**

"**We didn't bring you here," I promised. "We were..." A shiver went down my back. "We**

**were brought together. All three of us."**

"Whoa freaky." Said Leo.

"**What are you talking about?" Nico demanded.**

"**The children of the Big Three," I said. "Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."**

**Thalia took a sharp breath. "The prophecy. You don't think Kronos..." She didn't finish**

**the thought. We all knew about the big prophecy. A war was coming between the Titans**

**and gods. And the next child of the three major gods who turned sixteen would make a**

**decision that saved or destroyed the world. That meant one of us.**

"Which means him."

"Poor guy."

**Over the last few years, the Titan Lord Kronos had tried to manipulate each of us**

**separately. Now, could he be plotting something by bringing us all together?**

**The ground rumbled. Nico drew his own sword, a black blade of Stygian iron. Mrs.**

**O'Leary leaped backward and barked in alarm. Too late. I realized she was trying to**

**warn me. The ground opened underneath Thalia, Nico, and me and we fell into**

**darkness.**

"Falling!"

**I expected to keep falling forever or maybe be squashed into a demigod pancake**

"Now I feel like vomiting." Nico said.

**when**

**we hit the bottom. But the next thing I knew, Thalia, Nico and I were standing in a**

**garden. All three of us still screaming in terror, which made me feel pretty silly.**

Travis laughed "Screaming at a garden." He muttered.

"**What? Where are we?" Thalia asked.**

**The garden was dark. Rows of silver flowers glowed faintly, reflecting off huge**

**gemstones that lined the planting beds: diamonds, sapphires, and rubies — the size of**

**footballs.**

"Awesome!"

**Trees arched over us. Their branches covered with orange blooms and sweet**

**smelling fruit. The air was cool and damp. But not like a New York winter. More like a**

**cave.**

"**I'd been here before," I said.**

**Nico plucked the pomegranate off a tree. "My stepmother Persephone's garden." He**

**made a sour face and dropped the fruit. "Don't eat anything."**

**He didn't need to tell me twice. One taste of Underworld food and we'd never be able to**

**leave.**

"**Heads up," Thalia warned.**

**I turned and found her aiming her bow at a tall woman in a white dress.**

"Persephone!" Nico said in disguist.

**At first I**

**thought the woman was a ghost. Her dress billowed around her like smoke. Her long**

**dark hair floated and curled as if it were weightless. Her face was beautiful but definitely**

**pale. Then I realized her dress wasn't white. It was made of all sorts of changing colors:**

**red, blue, and yellow flowers blooming in the fabric.**

"Cool!" Piper squealed.

"Since when did you actually became a real Beauty Queen?" asked Leo.

**But it was strangely faded. Her**

**eyes were the same way, multi-colored but washed out, like the Underworld has sapped**

**her life force. I have the feeling that in the world above, she'd be beautiful, even**

**brilliant.**

"**I am Persephone," she said, her voice thin and papery. "Welcome demigods."**

**Nico squashed the pomegranate under his boot. "Welcome? Huh. After last time you've**

**got the nerve to welcome me?"**

"How was it?" Chris asked.

"I am not gonna answer that." Nico replied.

**I shifted uneasily because talking that way to a god can get you blasted into dust**

**bunnies.**

"I thought Percy started that." Nico said.

"**Um, Nico…"**

"**It's all right," Persephone said coldly. "We had a little family spat."**

"**Family spat?" Nico cried. "You turned me into a dandelion!"**

A big bubble Connor was blowing popped and his face was full of gum, but he wouldn't stop laughing.

"Imagine Nico as a dandelion!" Clarisse chuckled.

**Persephone ignored her stepson. "As I was saying, demigods, I welcome you to my**

**garden."**

**Thalia lowered her bow. "You sent the golden deer?"**

"**And the hellhound," the goddess admitted. "And the shadow that collected Nico. It was**

**necessary to bring you together."**

"**Why?" I asked.**

**Persephone regarded me. And I felt like cold little flowers were blooming in my**

**stomach. "Lord Hades has a problem," she said, "and if you know what's good for you,**

**you will help him."**

"You mean what's bad for you." Annabeth frowned.

**We sat on the dark veranda overlooking the garden. Persephone's handmaidens brought**

**food and drink which none of us touched.**

"And a good move too." Nico said bitterly.

"Why?" asked Jason.

"Because that's how I turned into a dandelion."

"So you were dumb enough to eat them?" Clarisse snickered.

"I was hungry!" Nico protested.

**The handmaidens would have been pretty**

**except for the fact that they were dead.**

"Hey Nico, could be Nayana." Travis teased.

"Shut up."

**They wore yellow dresses**

"So they had color on them." Said Jason.

"Well they can't be gray all day." Leo replied.

**with daisy and**

**hemlock wreaths on their heads. Their eyes were hollow and they spoke in jittering batlike voices of shades.**

A few people shivered.

**Persephone sat on a silver throne and studied us. "If this was spring I would be able to**

**greet you properly in the world above. Alas in winter, this is the best I can do." She**

**sounded bitter. After all this millennia, I guess she still resented living with Hades half**

**the year.**

"I feel your pain."

"What was that, Chris?"

"Nothing!"

**She looked so bleached and out of place like an old photograph of springtime.**

"Serves her right." Said Nico.

**She turned toward me as if reading my thoughts.**

"A lot of people can read Percy's thoughts." Connor said. The rest nodded.

"He gives that expression…except to Annabeth." Travis whispered that one so only his brother could hear him.

"**Hades is my husband and master, young one. I would do anything for him but in this case, I need your help.**

"Wonder if she keeps a script for that." Piper shrugged.

"Welcome to the club."

**And quickly, it**

**concerns Lord Hades' sword."**

**Nico frowned. "My father doesn't have a sword. He uses his staff in battle and his helm**

**of terror."**

"Terror, I thought that was just to make it sound cool." Jake said.

"**He didn't have a sword," Persephone corrected.**

**Thalia sat up. "He's forging a new symbol of power without Zeus' permission?"**

**The goddess of springtime pointed. Above the table, an image flickered to life. Skeletal**

**weapon smiths worked over a forge of black flames using hammers fashioned like metal**

**skulls to beat a length of iron into a blade.**

"We need those for the Argo!" Leo suggested proudly.

"Fine, get them yourself." Leo just sank in his seat.

"**War with the Titans is almost upon us," Persephone said. "My Lord Hades must be**

**ready."**

"Well, never knew he was gonna help us." Annabeth frowned.

"**But Zeus and Poseidon would never allow Hades to forge a new weapon," Thalia**

**protested. "It would unbalance their power sharing agreement."**

**Persephone shook her head. "You mean it would make Hades their equal. Believe me**

**daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Dead has no designs against his brothers. He knew**

**they would never understand. Which is why he forged the blade in secret."**

"Of course." Thalia slouched.

**The image over the table shimmered. A zombie weapon smith raised the blade still**

**glowing hot. Something strange was set on the base. Not a gem, more like...**

"**Is that a key?" I asked.**

"No way, it can't be." Chris said seriously. His brothers just stared at him.

**Nico made a gagging sound. "The keys of Hades?"**

"**Wait!" Thalia said. "What are the keys of Hades?"**

"Don't know do ya." Connor smirked.

**Nico looked even paler than his stepmother. "Hades has a set of golden keys that can**

**lock or unlock death. At least... that's the legend."**

"**It's true," Persephone said.**

"I hate it when a legend is true."

"**How do you lock and unlock death?" I asked.**

"That's what I was going to ask!"

"**The keys have the power to imprison a soul in the Underworld," Persephone said, "or**

**to release it."**

**Nico swallowed. "If one of those keys has been set in the sword..."**

"**The wielder can raise the dead," Persephone said, "or slay any living thing and send its**

**soul to the Underworld with a mere touch of the blade."**

"Awesome!" Both Leo and Jake shouted.

**We were all silent. The shadowy fountain gurgled in the corner. Handmaidens floated**

**around us, offering trays of fruit and candy that would keep us in the Underworld**

**forever.**

"Okay, now I get it." Jason said.

"**That's a wicked sword," I said at last.**

"Way to break the awkward moment." Thalia said, but no one was listening.

"I know right!" Leo said still smiling. "Hey Jake, we gotta make that!"

"**It would make Hades unstoppable," Thalia agreed.**

"**So you see," Persephone said, "why you must help get it back."**

**I stared at her. "Did you say get it back?"**

"Oh she said it." Travis said in a whisper.

**Persephone's eyes were beautiful and deadly serious like poisonous blooms. **

A few people laughed.

"**The blade**

**was stolen when it was almost finished. I do not know how but I suspect a demigod,**

**some servant of Kronos. If the blade falls into the Titan Lord's hands..."**

"Ethan." Annabeth said with disgust.

"Hey don't spoil it!" Leo protested.

**Thalia shot to her feet. "You allowed the blade to be stolen! How stupid was that?**

"Crossed the line." Nico mumbled. Thalia was sinking to the floor.

**Kronos probably has it by now!"**

**Thalia's arrows sprouted into long-stemmed roses. Her bow melted into a honeysuckle**

**vine, dotted with white and gold flowers.**

"**Take care, Huntress," Persephone warned. "Your father may be Zeus and you may be**

**the lieutenant of Artemis but you do not speak to me with disrespect in my own palace."**

**Thalia ground her teeth. "Give. Me. Back. My. Bow."**

"Oooh nice." Leo smiled at Thalia.

"Dude, not now." Jason said to Leo.

**Persephone waived her hand. The bow and arrows changed back to normal. "Now sit**

**and listen. The sword could have not left the Underworld yet. Lord Hades used his**

**remaining keys to shut down the realm. Nothing gets in or out until he finds the sword**

**and he is using all his power to locate the thief."**

**Thalia sat down reluctantly. "Then what do you need us for?"**

"Exactly" Nico agreed.

"**The search for the blade cannot be common knowledge," said the goddess. "We have**

**locked the realm but we have not announced why nor can Hades' servants be used for**

**the search. They cannot know the blade exists until it is finished. Certainly, they can't**

**know it is missing."**

"**If they thought Hades was in trouble, they might desert him," Nico guessed. "And join**

**the Titans."**

"Oh look, Nico's getting good at this." Travis teased again.

**Persephone didn't answer. But if a goddess could look nervous,**

"Of course she can." Annabeth shook her head muttering, Seaweed Brain.

**she did. "The thief must**

**be a demigod. No immortal can steal another immortal's weapon directly. Even Kronos**

**must abide by that ancient law. He has a champion**

"Champion?"

**down here somewhere. And to catch**

**a demigod, we shall use three."**

"**Why us?" I said.**

"**You are the children of the three major gods," Persephone said. "Who could withstand**

**your combined power?**

"She has a point there." Thalia and Nico said together.

"She's just getting you to accept the stupid quest."

**Besides when you restore the sword to Hades, you will send a**

**message to Olympus. Zeus and Poseidon will not protest Hades' new weapon if it is**

**given to him by their own children. It will show that you trust Hades."**

"But we don't trust him." Thalia said.

"**But I don't trust him," Thalia said.**

"So close."

"**Ditto,"**

"Who says ditto?" Connor snorted.

"Apparently, a lot of people." Jason replied.

**I said. "Why should we do anything for Hades, much less give him a super**

**weapon, right Nico?"**

**Nico stared at the table. His fingers tapped on his black Stygian blade.**

"**Right, Nico?" I prompted.**

"Uh oh" Piper said.

**It took him a second to focus on me. "I have to do this, Percy. He's my father."**

"He's hypnotized!" Leo shouted.

"I'm right here!" Nico shouted back.

"Stop shouting!" Katie roared and the two sank in their seats, their faces hot.

"**Oh, no way," Thalia protested. "You can't believe this is a good idea!"**

"**Would you rather have the sword in Kronos's hands?" He had a point there.**

"I hate it when there's a point." Thalia pouted.

"**Time is wasting," Persephone said. "The thief may have accomplices in the Underworld**

**and he would be looking for a way out."**

**I frowned. "I thought you said the realm was locked."**

"**No prison is air tight, not even the Underworld.**

The Stoll brothers frowned.

**Souls are always finding new ways out**

**faster than Hades can close them. You must retrieve the sword before it leaves our**

**realm. Or all is lost."**

"It's always that. They think we'll give in since 'all's gonna be lost.'" Leo complained.

"Or it's really going to be lost." Annabeth said while the others nodded.

"Athena kids." Leo scowled.

"**Even if we wanted to,"**

"You wanted to? I'm confused." Travis shook his head.

"And you said I was the idiot." Said Leo proudly.

"You still are, Leo."

**Thalia said, "how would we find this thief?"**

**A potted plant appeared on the table, a sickly yellow carnation with a few green leaves.**

**The flower listed sideways as if it were trying to find the sun. "This would guide you,"**

"I'll never understand Greek mythology." Chris said.

**the goddess said.**

"**A magic carnation?" I asked.**

"**The flower always faces the thief. As your prey gets closer to escaping, the petals will**

**fall off."**

"Cool!" Katie Gardner squealed. "I'll finally get the Stoll brothers!"

"We're right here you know!"

**Right on cue, a yellow petal turned gray and fluttered onto the dirt. "If all the petals fall**

**off," Persephone said, "the flower dies. This means the thief has reached an exit and**

**you have failed."**

"So how many petals are there, exactly?"

**I glanced at Thalia. She didn't seem too enthusiastic about the whole track-a-thief-witha-**

**flower thing. **

"Neither do we."

**Then I looked at Nico. Unfortunately, I recognized the expression on his**

**face. I knew what it was like wanting to make your dad proud, even if your dad was**

**hard to love.**

A few people sniggered and giggled, even Nico.

"Did he have to put that there?"

**In this case, really hard to love.**

"You don't say?" The Stolls said sarcastically.

**Nico was going to do this, with or without**

**us. I couldn't let him go alone.**

"**One condition," I told Persephone. "Hades would have to swear on the River Styx that**

**he will never use this sword against the gods."**

"Fat chance, no way." Said Nico.

**The goddess shrugged. "I am not Lord Hades. But I'm confident he would do this as**

**payment for your help."**

"If that's the case then why do they need to find it in the first place?" Jason asked.

**Another petal fell off the carnation. I turned to Thalia. "I'll hold the flower while you**

**beat up the thief?"**

"Yeah."

**She sighed. "Fine. Let's go catch this jerk."**

"That's what I'm talkin' about." Jake said.

**The Underworld didn't get into the Christmas spirit.**

"Even though it's full of spirits." Said Nico and the Hermes kids shook their heads.

**As we made our way down the**

**palace road into the Fields of Asphodel, it looked pretty much like it had on my previous**

**visit. Seriously depressing. Yellow grass and stunted black poplar trees rolled on forever.**

**Shades drifted aimlessly across the hills, coming from nowhere and going nowhere,**

**chattering to each other and trying to remember who they were in life.**

Everyone was silent, almost bored as Nico read about the fields. Nico himself stopped trying to remember where he was in the words.

**High above us,**

**the cavern ceiling glistened darkly. I carried the carnation which made me feel pretty**

**stupid.**

"Flower girl Percy. Connor write that down." Travis ordered his brother and Connor was scribbling once again in the tiny notebook.

**Nico led the way, since his blade could clear a path through any crowd of**

**undead. Thalia mostly grumbled that she should've known better than to go on a quest**

**with a couple of boys.**

"And I was right." Thalia slouched.

"**Did Persephone seem kind of uptight?" I asked.**

**Nico waded through a mob of ghosts, driving them back with Stygian iron. "She always**

**acts that way when I'm around. She hates me."**

"I think being turned into a dandelion means she hates him." Jason said.

"Please don't put that thing in my head again." Will and Rachel said.

"You don't talk much do you?" Connor asked the two.

"We listen than talk, besides, you're already saying what we were saying." Rachel answered while Pollux and Will nodded.

"Where's Clovis?" Will asked.

"Don't ask that again."

"**Then why did she include you in the quest?"**

"**Probably my dad's idea." **

"Another fat chance, Nico."

**He sounded like he wanted that to be true but I wasn't so**

**sure. It seems strange to me that Hades hadn't given us the quest himself. If this sword**

**was so important to him, why had he let Persephone explain things? Usually, Hades**

**liked to threaten demigods in person.**

"That is true." Chris agreed.

**Nico forged ahead. No matter how crowded the fields were (and if you've ever seen**

**Times Square on New Year's Eve you have a pretty good idea)**

"Oh that was really full" Annabeth scowled. "Me and Percy couldn't move at all."

**the spirits parted before**

**him. "He's handy with zombie crowds," Thalia admitted. "Think I'll take him along next**

**time I go to the mall."**

"But that wasn't a zombie crowd." Nico said to Thalia.

**She gripped her bow tight like she was afraid it would turn into honeysuckle vine again.**

**She didn't look any older than she had last year and it suddenly occurred to me that she**

**would never age, now that she was a Huntress. That meant I was older than she was.**

**Weird.**

"I know right." Thalia muttered to herself.

"**So," I said, "how's immortality training you?"**

Thalia rolled her eyes.

**She rolled her eyes. "It's not total immortality, Percy. You know that. We can still die in**

**combat. It's just... we don't ever age or get sick.**

"Cool!"

"Oh get used to it, Leo. We all know we'll or you'll never be immortal."

**So we live forever assuming that we**

**don't get sliced into pieces by monsters. Always a danger. Always." She looked around**

**and I realized she was scanning the faces of the dead.**

"**If you're looking for Bianca," I said quietly so Nico wouldn't hear me, "she'd be in**

**Elysium. She died a hero's death."**

Nico frowned. "Always leave me out of things…"

"**I know that," Thalia snapped. Then she caught herself. "It's not that Percy, I was just...**

**Never mind."**

**A cold feeling washed over me. I remembered that Thalia's mother had died in a car**

**crash a few years ago. **

"He always mentions things." Thalia grumbled.

"It's for the readers, I think." Pollux said

"the what?"

"Nevermind."

**They'd never been close but Thalia had never gotten to say**

**goodbye. **

Nobody dared to speak, Connor opened his mouth but closed it immediately.

**If her mother's shade was wandering around right down here, no wonder**

**Thalia looked jumpy.**

"**I'm sorry," I said. "I wasn't thinking."**

**Our eyes met and I got the feeling she understood.**

"I somehow hate the meeting of eyes." Piper said.

"Oh please, you just don't want anything ruining Percabeth." Katie smiled.

"And besides" Travis interrupted. "That sounds _so _wrong."

**Her expression softened. "It's okay.**

**Let's just get this over with." Another petal fell off the carnation as we marched on.**

**I wasn't happy when the flower pointed us toward the Fields of Punishment. I was**

**hoping we'd veer into Elysium and so we could hang out with the beautiful people and**

**party.**

"Oh, bro, remember 8.18?" Connor nudged his brother and Chris.

"What's 8.18?" Thalia raised an eyebrow, everybody leaned in to hear.

"Oh man wildest party ever! Me, Travis, Chris and Percy went to the Elysium for this quest, we were allowed four." Connor added "then we like got lost in a party that lasted till 8:18 in the morning! You should've seen Percy-" But Annabeth glared at them and Nico continued, keeping in mind to ask the Stolls about 8.18.

**But no, the flower seemed to like the harshest, evilest part of the Underworld.**

"It always happens." Katie frowned.

**We jumped over a lava stream and picked our way past scenes of horrible torture. I won't describe them because you'd completely lose your appetite.**

"Aww."

**But I wished I had cotton**

**balls in my ears to shut out the screaming and the 1980's music.**

"Good idea."

"Wow, 1980 music in Punishment? That is punishment." Jake said.

**The carnation tilted its face toward the hill on our left. "Up there," I said.**

**Thalia and Nico stopped. They were covered with soot from trudging through**

**Punishment. I probably didn't look much better. A loud grinding noise came from the**

**other side of the hill like somebody was dragging a washing machine. Then the hill**

**shook with a BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! And a man yelled curses. Thalia looked at Nico.**

"**Is that who I think it is?"**

"Oh" Annabeth.

"Who is it?" Pollux asked.

"Ol' Sisy." Nico answered.

"**Afraid so," Nico said. "The number one expert on cheating death."**

"Maybe we should ask him on that." Chris said to his brothers.

"I think he'll be too busy cheating death."

**Before I could ask what he meant, he led us to the top of the hill.**

**The dude on the other side was not pretty and he was not happy. He looked like one of**

**those troll dolls with orange skin, a pot-belly, scrawny legs and arms, and a big loin**

**cloth diaper thing around his waist.**

"Dude" Leo said, his face horror-struck.

**His ruddy hair stuck up like a torch. He was hopping**

**around, cursing and kicking a boulder that was twice as big as he was.**

"**I won't," he screamed, "No, no, no!"**

**Then he launched into a string of cuss words in several different languages.**

"He's like an eight-year-old nerd that failed his math test." Travis said.

"Wow that's pretty…imaginative." Will said.

**If I'd had**

**one of those jars where you put a quarter in for each bad word, I would've made**

**around 500 dollars. **

"And that's just a day." Piper said.

**He started to walk away from the boulder, but after ten feet he**

**lurched backward like some invisible force has pulled him. He staggered back to the**

**boulder and started banging his head against it.**

"Now he's like an eight-year-old who won't study."

"**All right," he screamed, "all right, curse you." He rubbed his head and muttered some**

**more cuss words. "But this is the last time, do you hear me?"**

"Wonder how many times he said that."

**Nico looked at us. "Come on while he's between attempts."**

**We scrambled down the hill. "Sisyphus," Nico called.**

**The troll guy looked up in surprise. Then he scrambled behind his rock. "Oh no. You're**

**not fooling me with those disguises. I know you're the Furies."**

"Close" Connor said.

"**We're not the Furies," I said. "We just want a talk."**

"**Go away," he shrieked. "Flowers won't make it better. It's too late to apologize."**

"**Look," Thalia said, "we just want..." **

"**Blah blah blah," he yelled, "I'm not listening."**

**We played tag with him around the boulder**

Everyone laughed at this.

"Percy, Thalia, Nico, running around a boulder trying to catch Sisyphus. Well said and freaky." Will said between laughs.

**until finally Thalia, who was the quickest,**

**caught the old man by his hair.**

"**Stop it!" he wailed. "I have rocks to move. Rocks to move."**

"**I'll move your rock," Thalia offered. "Just shut up and talk to my friends."**

**Sisyphus stopped fighting. "You? You move my rock?"**

"**It's better than looking at you." **

"I don't know about that."

**Thalia glanced at me, "Be quick about it." Then she**

**shugged Sisyphus towards us. She put her shoulder against the rock and started**

**pushing it very slowly uphill.**

**Sisyphus scowled at me distrustfully. He pinched my nose. "Ow!" I said.**

"Hahaha! He is an eight-year-old!" Travis laughed.

"**So you're really not a Fury," he said in amazement. "What's the flower for?"**

"**We're looking for someone," I said. "The flower is helping us find him."**

"**Persephone!" He spit in the dust. "That's one of her tracking devices, isn't it?"**

**He leaned forward and I caught an unpleasant whiff of old guy whose been rolling a**

**rock for eternity. **

"He has been moving a rock for eternity." Annabeth said.

"**I fooled her once, you know. I fooled them all."**

**I looked at Nico. "Translation?"**

"Spanish or Italian?" Nico asked himself sarcastically.

"**Sisyphus cheated death," Nico explained. "First, he chained up Thanatos, the Reaper of**

**Souls, so no one could die. Then when Thanatos got free, he was about to kill him.**

"That was obvious, Nico. What do you think? He'll sip strawberry smoothies and watch Sisy cheat death?" Clarisse told Nico.

"Ok! Chill!" Nico defended.

**Sisyphus told his wife to do incorrect funeral rites so he wouldn't rest in peace. Sisy**

**here— May I call you Sisy?"**

"**No!"**

"I like it" Thalia agreed.

"**Sisy tricked Persephone into letting him go back to the world to haunt his wife and he**

**didn't come back."**

**The old man cackled. "I stayed alive another 30 years before they finally tracked me**

**down."**

**Thalia was half-way up the hill now. She gritted her teeth, pushing the boulder with her**

**back. Her expression said, Hurry up!**

"**So that was your punishment," I said to Sisyphus, "rolling a boulder up a hill forever.**

**Was it worth it?"**

Clarisse snorted "No way."

"**A temporary setback,"**

"Of eternity."

**Sisyphus cried. "I'll bust out of here soon and when I do, they'll**

**all be sorry!"**

"If you bust out of there soon."

"**How would you get out of the Underworld Nico asked. "It's lock down, you know." Sisyphus grinned wickedly. "That's what the other one asked." My stomach tightened. "Someone else asked your advice?"**

"**An angry young man," Sisyphus recalled. "Not very polite. He hold a sword to my**

**throat, didn't offer to roll my boulder at all."**

"Poor boy." Katie said sarcastically.

"**What did you tell him?" Nico said. "Who was he?"**

**Sisyphus massaged his shoulders. He glanced up at Thalia, who was almost up to the**

**top hill. Her face was bright red and drenched in sweat.**

"Which would be worse? That boulder or the sky?" Pollux asked.

"Well, if your hair turns gray if you carry the sky, I'd say sky." Annabeth replied.

"Had a go?" Jason asked her. Annabeth nodded.

"**Oh, it's hard to say," Sisyphus said. "Never seen him before. He carried a long package**

**all wrapped up in black cloth. Skis maybe, or shovel. Maybe if you wait here, I can go**

**look for him."**

"**What did you tell him?" I demanded.**

"**Can't remember."**

**Nico drew his sword. The Stygian iron was so cold; it steamed in the hot dry air of**

**punishment. "Try harder."**

"Yeah go, Nico" Connor cheered.

"Why are you cheering?"

"Since Kaye's gone maybe you need someone to cheer." Travis said in a low voice.

"Who's Kaye?"

"Long story."

**The old man winced. "What kind of person carries a sword like that?"**

"**The son of Hades," Nico said. "Now, answer me!"**

**The color drained from Sisyphus' face. "I told him to talk to Melinoe. She always has a**

**way out."**

"Melinoe?" Many people asked, turning to Annabeth and Nico, they ignored them.

**Nico lowered his sword. I could tell the name Melinoe bothered him. "Are you crazy?" he**

**said. "That's suicide."**

**The old man shrugged. "I've cheated death before. I could do it again. "**

"**What does this demigod look like?"**

"**Um... He had a nose," **

"Oh he did?" Rachel shouted sarcastically.

**Sisyphus said, "a mouth and one eye and—"**

Rachel's smile faded "One eye? Uh oh."

"**One eye?" I interrupted. "Did he have an eye patch?"**

"**Oh, maybe," Sisyphus said. "He had hair on his head and…" **

"Maybe on his armpit."

"Jake!"

"Well he is telling us were hair belongs. Obviously in his head, dummy!"

"Stop shouting to yourself!" Katie shouted back.

**He gasped and looked over my shoulder. "There he is!"**

**We fell for it. As soon as we turned, Sisyphus took off down the hill. "I'm free! I'm free!**

"Ha! Losers!" They Hermes kids laughed with the others.

**I'm... ow."**

"HA! LOSER!" Travis shouted.

**Ten feet from the hill, he hit the end of his invisible leash and fell on his back. Nico and**

**I grabbed his arms and hauled him up the hill.**

"**Curse you!" He let loose with bad words in Ancient Greek, Latin, English, French and**

**several other languages I didn't recognize. **

"That's quite a guy." Piper said.

"**I'll never help you! Go to Hades!"**

"**Already there," Nico muttered.**

"**Incoming!" Thalia shouted.**

**I looked up and might have used a few cuss words myself. The boulder was bouncing**

**straight towards us. Nico jumped one way, I jumped the other.**

"Looks like death won this time." Jason said.

"Not with Sisy" Nico said with disgust.

**Sisyphus yelled, "Nooo!", as the thing plaud into him. Somehow, he braced himself and**

**stopped it before it could run him over. I guess he'd had a lot of practice.**

"Oh man" Leo pounded his fist on the table.

"**Take it again!" He wailed. "Please, I can't hold it."**

"**Not again," Thalia gasped, "you are on your own."**

**He treated us to a lot more colorful language. **

"Not again!"

**It was clear he wasn't going to help us any further so we left him into his punishment.**

"Deserves it" Nico mumbled.

"**Melinoe's cave is this way." Nico said.**

"**If this thief guy really has one eye," I said, "that could be Ethan Nakamura, son of**

**Nemesis. He's the one who freed Kronos."**

"**I remember," Nico said darkly, "but if we're dealing with Melinoe, we've got bigger**

**problems. Come on!"**

"So who's Melinoe?" Jake asked directly at Nico. He opened his mouth to answer but close it again then opened it.

"Later" was all he said.

**As we walked away, Sisyphus was yelling, "All right! But this is the last time! Do you**

**hear me? The last time!"**

"We'll be glad to hear that." Piper scowled.

**Thalia shuddered.**

"**You okay?" I asked her.**

"**I guess," she hesitated, "Percy, the scary thing is when I got to the top, I thought I had**

**it. I thought, ****This isn't so hard****. I can get the rock to stay and as it rolled down, I was**

**almost tempted to try it again. I figured I could get it the second time."**

"Freaky thing, that is" Thalia shuddered.

**She looked back wistfully. "Come on!" I told her, "The sooner we're out of here, the**

**better."**

But before Nico could read further, the conch horn sounded for lunch.  
>"Hey Annabeth, could we get lunch first?" Leo asked.<p>

"We got to finish this." Annabeth replied and Leo groaned.

"Yeah right, Annabeth, we heard your stomach growl even before we started reading." Travis said to her.

"Alright alright, go ahead." Then everybody in the room walked to the pavilion for lunch.

_**Stay tuned for the ending…**_


	4. The Sword of Hades part 2

**It's finally here!**

**So sorry for the loooooooong wait.**

**Sword of Hades (part 2)**

**No one's POV:**

Slowly after lunch, the campers and counselors started filling the meeting room. Everyone was in except Clarisse.

"Where's Clarisse?" Annabeth asked doing a head count again. The Stoll brothers raised a flask with something that was purple.

"We wanted to make this last few pages the best." Travis said smirking.

"Food poisoning?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, literally." Connor answered. Annabeth sighed and sat down.

"Oh well, she's too sick to heal now. Who would like to read?" She said raising the last pages of the story. Leo frowned at this.

"Ooh me, Annabeth!" Katie shot her hand like a bullet and was waving it.

"Sure" Annabeth slided the papers to Katie's direction and she started.

**We walked for what seemed like eternity. **

"I got a bad feeling about that." Rachel sank.

**Three more petals withered from the**

**carnation which meant it is now officially half-dead.**

"That's some flower." Jake started.

**The flower pointed toward the**

**range of jagged gray hills that looked like teeth. So we charged in that direction, over a**

**plain of volcanic rock.**

"**Nice day for a stroll," Thalia muttered.**

"I got sick of the sarcasm." Jason complained.

"**The Hunters are probably feasting in some**

**forest glade right about now."**

**I wondered what my family was doing. My mom and stepdad, Paul, would be worried**

**when I didn't come home from school. But it wasn't the first time this had happened.**

**They'd figure it out pretty quickly that I'm on some quest. My mom would be pacing**

**back and forth in the living room, wondering if I was going to make it back to unwrap**

**my presents.**

"**So who is this Melinoe?" I asked, trying to take my mind off home.**

"**Long story," Nico said. "Long very scary story."**

Nico twitched.

"What the heck, Nico?" Leo said.

**I was about to ask what he meant when Thalia dropped to a crouch. "Weapons!"**

**I drew Riptide. I'm sure I look terrifying with potted carnation in the other hand so I put**

**it down.**

"Haha, my imagination of that is so funny." Thalia teased.

**Nico drew his sword. We stood back-to-back. Thalia notched an arrow.**

"**What is it?" I whispered.**

**She seemed to be listening. Then her eyes widened. A ring of a dozen daimones**

**materialized around us. They were part humanoid female, part bat. **

"Oh man, more freaky combinations." Travis said.

"I'll take that as sarcasm." His brother laughed.

**Their faces were**

**pug-nosed and furry, with fangs and bulging eyes. Matted gray fur and piecemeal armor**

**covered their bodies. They had shriveled arms with claws for hands, leathery wings that**

**sprouted from their backs, and stubby bowed legs. They would've looked funny except**

**for the murderous glow in their eyes.**

"I can't imagine that anymore." Piper said.

"**Keres," Nico said.**

"**What?" I asked.**

"**Battlefield spirits. They feed on violent death."**

"**Oh, wonderful," Thalia said.**

Jason glared at his sister.

"It comes to me." She shrugged.

"**Get back!" Nico ordered the daimones. "The son of Hades commands you."**

"Ooh, a twelve year old giving me commands." Connor commented.

"You'll be surprised how old I am." Nico said back.

**The Keres hissed. Their mouths foamed. They glanced apprehensively at our weapons,**

**but I got the feeling the Keres weren't impressed by Nico's command.**

"**Soon Hades will be defeated," one of them snarled, "Our new master shall give us free**

**reign."**

"We got that a lot in our quest." Leo said.

"Wow, that's annoying." Nico replied.

**Nico blinked, "New master?"**

**The lead daimon lunged. Nico was so surprised it might slashed him to bits, but Thalia**

**shot an arrow point-blank into his ugly bat face and the creature disintegrated. The rest**

**of them charged. Thalia dropped her bow and drew her knives.**

**I ducked as Nico's sword whistled over my head, cutting a daimon in half. I sliced and**

**jabbed and three or four Keres exploded around me but more just kept coming.**

"**Iapetus shall crush you," one shouted.**

"That sounds like a brand of chips." Chris commented.

"What the heck?"

"Anyway, why aren't you with Clarisse?" Annabeth asked him. Chris thought for a moment.

"I have no idea." He answered.

"**Who?" I asked. Then I ran her through with my sword. Note to self: If you vaporized**

**monsters, they can't answer your questions.**

"Not this again." Annabeth said.

**Nico was also cutting an arc through the Keres. His black sword absorbed their essence**

**like a vacuum cleaner and the more he destroy, the colder the air become around him.**

"Nico, that is cool." Jake said simply.

"You think any weapon is cool." Leo said to his half-brother.

"You too!" He defended.

**Thalia flipped a daimon on his back, stabbed it and impaled another one with her**

**second knife without even turning around.**

"Show off." Connor mumbled.

"**Die in pain, mortal!"**

**Before I could raise my sword for defense another daimon's claws ripped my shoulder.**

**If I have been wearing armor, no problem. But I was still on my school uniform.**

**The thing's talons sliced open my shirt and tore into my skin. **

"What happened to Sword Champion?" Pollux asked.

"Distracted once again." Annabeth answered.

"But you weren't there." Piper smiled.

**My whole left side seem to**

**explode in pain. Nico kicked the monster away and stabbed it. All I could was to collapse**

**and curl into a ball, trying to endure the horrible burning.**

**The sound of battle died. Thalia and Nico rushed to my side. "Hold still, Percy," Thalia**

**said. "You'll be fine." But quiver in her voice told me the wound was bad.**

**Nico touched it and I yelled in pain. "Nectar," he said. "I'm pouring nectar on it."**

**He uncorked the bottle of the godly drink and tricked it across my shoulder. This was**

**dangerous. Just a sip of this stuff is almost demigods could stand but immediately the**

**pain eased. Together, Nico and Thalia dressed the wound and I passed out only a few**

**times.**

"I didn't catch that part." Travis said.

"Oh please, Travis your ears are like the Aphrodite girls. Who use them for spying." Thalia said.

**I couldn't judge how much time went by, but the next thing I remember I was propped**

**up with my back against a rock. My shoulder was bandaged. Thalia was feeding me tiny**

**squares of chocolate-flavored ambrosia.**

"I-" but Annabeth cupped her hand to Piper's mouth.

"**The Keres?" I muttered.**

"**Gone for now," she said. "You have me worried for a second, Percy. But I think you'll**

**make it."**

"Don't you dare say a word, Piper." Annabeth warned before Piper could make a sound.

"Aw" the Stolls whined.

"Not you too!"

**Nico crouched next to us. He was holding the potted carnation. Only five petals still**

**clung to the flower. "The Keres will be back," he warned. He looked at my shoulder with**

**concern. "That wound. The Keres are spirits of disease and pestilence as well as**

**violence. We could slow down the infection but eventually you'll need serious healing. I**

**mean, a god's power, otherwise…" He didn't finish the thought.**

"Monsters always have this thing when they bite you." Jake complained.

"**I'll be fine," I tried to sit up and immediately felt nauseous.**

"Of course"

"Shush, Jake!" Katie reminded.

"**Slow," Thalia said. "You need rest before you could move."**

"**There's no time," I looked at the carnation. "One of the daimones mentioned Iapetus.**

**Am I remembering right?**

"I hope not." Clarisse snorted.

Pollux just gave her a face that was like _really?"_

**That's a Titan."**

**Thalia nodded uneasily. "The brother of Kronos, father of Atlas. He was known as the**

**Titan of the West. His name means The Piercer because that's what he likes to do to his**

**enemies.**

"Typical titan" Travis rolled his eyes.

**He was cast into Tartarus along with his brothers. He was supposed to be**

**down there."**

"**But if the sword of Hades can unlock death?" I asked.**

"**Then maybe," Nico said, "it could also summon the damned out of Tartarus. We can't**

**let them try."**

"Is that what _damn_ means?" Katie asked.

"Yes, apparently you're too much of a goody two shoes to know." Travis said back.

Everyone just started at them, Piper smirked behind her long hair.

"Are you sure that's what it means?" Rachel asked.

"Well I'm not using it." Leo said, breaking the awkward moment.

"Way to break the moment, Leo." Piper nudged him.

"I just wanted to continue." Leo protested.

"I thought you didn't want this to end?" Jason asked him.

Leo just shrugged.

"**We still do not know who them is," Thalia said.**

"**The half-blood working for Kronos," I said. "Probably Ethan Nakamura.**

"He didn't have to say it, it's really obvious." Rachel said.

"Thank you, Miss Obvious." Chris said.

**And he's**

**starting to recruit some of Hades' minions to his side like the Keres."**

"**The daimones think that if Kronos wins the war, they'll get more chaos and evil out of**

**the deal."**

"**They are probably right," Nico said. "My father tries to keep the balance. He reins in**

**the more violent spirits. If Kronos appoints one of brothers to be the Lord of the**

**Underworld—"**

"**Like this Iapetus dude," I said.**

"—**then the Underworld will get a lot worse," Nico said. "The Keres would like that so**

**would Melinoe."**

"**You still haven't told us who Melinoe is."**

"Oh yeah"

"You're stalling, Leo."

"No you're stalling by saying something back."

**Nico chewed his lip. "She's the goddess of ghosts, one of my father's servants. She**

**oversees the restless dead that walk the earth. Every night, she rises from the**

**Underworld to terrify mortals."**

"Oh my gods, I think I saw her before!" Connor said in a panic tone.

"I thought you were sp guilty of stealing my piece of candy that you were hallucinating." Travis said.

"Me too, man."

"You've been a bad boy, Connor. You deserved it." Annabeth teased.

"**She has her own path into the Upperworld?"**

**Nico nodded. "I doubt it would be blocked. Normally, no one would even think about**

**trespassing in her cave. But if this demigod thief is brave enough to make a deal with**

**her…"**

"**He could get back to the world," Thalia supplied, "and bring the sword to Kronos."**

"**Who would use it to raise his brothers from Tartarus," I guessed, "and we be in big**

**trouble."**

**I struggled to my feet. A wave of nausea almost made me blacked out but Thalia**

**grabbed me.**

"**Percy," she said, "you're in no condition."**

"**I have to be."**

**I watched as another petal withered and fell off the carnation. Four left before**

**doomsday.**

"**Give me the potted plant. We have to find the cave of Melinoe."**

"So how do you pronounce Melinoe?" Leo asked Annabeth.

"Stop it, man you're stalling again." Jake said to his brother.

"But I really don't know!"

**As we walked, I tried to think about positive things — my favorite basketball players, my**

**last conversation with Annabeth,**

Piper raised her fist and punched the air while Annabeth blushed in her seat.

"You're too obsessed with this." Chris reminded her.

"Don't care, this story needs romance." Piper said back.

"Now that's an Aphrodite girl, which I didn't expect." Jason told her.

Piper frowned "Is that bad?"

"Nah"

**what my mom would make for Christmas dinner.**

**Anything but the pain. Still, it felt like a saber-toothed tiger was chewing on my**

**shoulder.**

**I wasn't going to be much good on a fight and I cursed myself for letting down my**

**guard. I should have never gotten hurt. Now Thalia and Nico would have to haul my**

**useless butt through rest of the mission.**

"Haha, useless butt, that's funny." Clarisse joked.

**I was so busy feeling sorry for myself; I didn't notice the sound of roaring water until**

**Nico said, "Uh-oh."**

**About fifty feet ahead of us, a dark river churned through a gorge of volcanic rock. I'd**

**seen the Styx and this didn't look like the same river. It was narrow and fast. The water**

**was black as ink. Even the foam churned black. The far bank was only thirty feet across**

**but that was too far to jump and there was no bridge.**

"Now how do you pronounce Lethe?" Connor asked.

"Ooo, figured it out by yourself huh?" Travis said.

"No I can see the paper from here but thanks for the compliment."

"That was not a compliment." Pollux told him.

"I'll take it."

"**The River Lethe!" Nico cursed in Ancient Greek.**

"Whoever wrote this always use "cursed" instead of the real word." Thalia commented.

"Well because there are also young people reading this." Annabeth replied.

"I thought we were the only ones hearing this?" Leo said.

"Then you're considered "young", Leo." Piper teased.

"Hey!"

"**We'll never make it across."**

**The flower was pointing to the other side, toward a gloomy mountain and a path leading**

**up to a cave. Beyond the mountain, the walls of the Underworld loomed like a dark**

**granite sky.**

**I hadn't considered that the Underworld might have an outer rim, but this appeared to**

**be it. "There's got to be a way across," I said.**

**Thalia knelt next to the bank.**

"**Careful," Nico said, "This is the river of forgetfulness. If one drop of that water gets on**

**you, you'll start to forget who you are."**

**Thalia backed up. "I know this place. Luke told me about it once. Souls come here if**

**they choose to be reborn, so they totally forget their former lives."**

"Hmmm…" Connor hummed.

**Nico nodded. "Swim in that water and your mind will be wiped clean. You'll be like a**

**new born baby."**

"I can't imagine that." Rachel laughed.

"You haven't seen the worst." Nico grumbled.

**Thalia studied the opposite bank. "I could shoot an arrow across. Maybe anchor a line to**

**one of those rocks."**

"**You want to trust your weight to a line that isn't tied off?" Nico asked.**

**Thalia frowned. "Yeah right. Works on the movies,**

"That would be so cool, though."

**but no. Could you summon some**

**dead people to help us?"**

"**I could but they would only appear on my side of the river. Running water acts as**

**barrier against the dead. They can't cross it."**

"That's stupid." Jason snorted.

**I winced. "What kind of stupid rule was that?"**

"Great minds think alike I guess." Pollux said.

Jake looked disguisted "Dude?"

"Nevermind."

"**Hey, I didn't make it up." He studied my face. "You look terrible, Percy. You should sit**

**down."**

"**I can't. You need me for this."**

"**For what?" Thalia asked. "You can barely stand."**

"**It's water, isn't it? I'll have to control it. Maybe I can redirect the flow long enough to**

**get us across."**

"**In your condition?" Nico said. "No way. I'd feel safer with the arrow idea."**

"They're both scary, but I like his idea better." Piper said.

**I staggered to the edge of the river.**

"He's a dead man." Connor immediately said.

**I didn't know if I could do this. I was the child of**

**Poseidon so controlling salt water was no problem. Regular river, maybe. If the river**

**spirits were feeling cooperative. Magical Underworld rivers? I had no idea.**

"He's serious about that." Travis said.

"When it comes to his flaw." Thalia smirked.

"**Stand back," I said. I concentrated on the current, the raging black water rushing past.**

**I imagined that it was part of my own body. I could control the flow, make it respond to**

**my will. I wasn't sure but I felt the water churned and bubbled more violently as if it**

**could sense my presence. I knew I couldn't stop the river altogether. The current would**

**back up and flood the whole valley, exploding all over us as soon as I let it go. But there**

**was another solution.**

"**Here goes nothing," I muttered.**

The looks on everyone's faces were filled with worry, wondering if Percy could get through.

"I bet you two bucks he gets through." Travis said.

"Cheap" Connor snorted. "I bet eight dollars he gets through but something bad will happen on the way."

"That's how it always is." Nico commmented.

**I raised my arms like I was lifting something over my head. My bad shoulder burned like**

**lava but I tried to ignore it. The river rose.**

".!" Leo shouted.

"It was better in person." Nico agreed.

"It looked weird but awesome." Thalia added.

"Can't admit it, huh?" Connor smirked while Thalia rolled her eyes.

**It surged out of its banks, flowing up and**

**then down again in a great arc — a raging black rainbow of water twenty feet high. The**

**riverbed in front of us turned into a drying mud — a tunnel under the river just wide**

**enough for two people to walk side-by-side.**

"Oh my gods." Katie said.

**Thalia and Nico stared at me in amazement. "Go," I said. "I can't hold this for long."**

**Yellow spots danced in front of my eyes. My wounded shoulder merely screamed in**

**pain.**

"That would be so wrong." Pollux said.

"He didn't mean it literally." Jake replied.

"Shush! You're breaking the moment!"

**Thalia and Nico scrambled into the riverbed and made their way across the sticky**

**mud.**

**Not a single drop. I can't let a single drop of water touch them.**

"Now that's scary."

**The River Lethe fought**

**me. It didn't want to be forced out of its bank. It wanted to crash down to my friends,**

**wipe their minds clean, and drown them. But I held the arc.**

**Thalia climbed the opposite bank and turned to help Nico. "Come on, Percy," she said.**

"**Walk."**

"How? Bring the river with him?" Leo asked.

"Are you always like this." Thalia asked him.

"Surprisingly, no." Jason answered her.

**My knees were shaking; my arms trembled. I took a step forward and almost fell. The**

**water arc quivered. "I can't make it," I called.**

"**Yes, you can," Thalia said. "We need you."**

**Somehow I managed to climb down into the riverbed. One step, then another. The**

**water surged above me. My boots squished in the mud. Half-way across, I stumbled. I**

**heard Thalia scream, "NO!" And my concentration broke.**

"Oh shoot."

"Ha! You owe me eight bucks." Connor said to his brother.

"He's only halfway." Travis crossed his arms.

**As the River Lethe crashed down at me, I had time for one last desperate thought: ****Dry****.**

**I heard the roar and felt the crash of tons of water as the river fell back on its natural**

**course but…**

"This might be fun." Travis joked.

**I opened my eyes. I was surrounded in darkness. I was completely dry. A layer of air**

**covered me like a second skin, shielding me from the effects of the water. I struggled to**

**my feet. Even the small effort to stay dry, something I'd done many times in normal**

**water, was almost more than I could handle. I slugged forward to the black current,**

**blind and doubled over with pain.**

**I climbed out of the River Lethe, surprising Thalia and Nico who jumped back a good**

**five feet. I staggered forward, collapsed in front of my friends and passed out cold.**

"Well?" Connor did an evil laugh. "Give it here." He opened his palm.

"Fine" Travis handed him the bet. "But please don't do that laugh again."

**The taste of nectar brought me around. My shoulder felt better but I had an**

**uncomfortable buzz in my ears. My eyes felt hot like I have a fever.**

"**We can't risk any more nectar," Thalia was saying. "He'll burst into flames."**

"Have you ever seen someone burn like that?" Nico asked.

"Long time ago." Jake sighed.

"**Percy," Nico said, "Can you hear me?"**

"**Flames," I murmured. "Got it."**

**I sat up slowly. My shoulder was newly bandaged. It still hurt but I was able to stand.**

"**We're close," Nico said. "Can you walk?"**

**The mountain loomed above us. A dusty trail snaked up a few hundred feet to the**

**mouth of a cave. The path was lined with human bones for that extra cozy feel.**

"**Ready," I said.**

"**I don't like this," Thalia murmured.**

"I think only zombie dude likes it." Rachel joked.

"Hey!" Nico defended.

**She cradled the carnation which was pointing toward the cave. The flower now had two**

**petals left like very sad bunny ears.**

"That would've been cute." Piper added.

"**A creepy cave," I said. "The goddess of ghosts. What's not to like?"**

**As if in response, a hissing sound echoed down the mountain. White mist billowed from**

**the cave like someone had turn on a dry ice machine. In the fog, an image appeared —**

**a tall woman with disheveled blonde hair. She wore pink bathrobe and had a wine glass**

**in her hand. Her face was stern and disapproving. I could see right through her so I**

**knew she was a spirit of some kind but her voice sounded real enough.**

"Not what I expected from the goddess of ghosts." Leo commented.

"**Now you come back," she growled. "Well, it's too late."**

"English please?" Chris asked Nico.

"Just listen." He replied.

**I looked at Nico and whispered, "Melinoe?"**

**Nico didn't answer. He stood frozen, staring at the spirit.**

**Thalia lowered her bow, "Mother?"**

Everyone looked at Thalia. Connor started rocking back and forth.

"Oh gods oh gods, I'm becoming deaf!"

"I'm sorry to say this Thalia, but this is extremely freaky." Leo said calmly.

"Why is our mother the goddess of ghosts?" Jason asked.

"She's not really" Thalia started. "Um, it's hard to explain."

"Or you're just too lazy to explain?" Nico said to her.

**Her eyes teared up. Suddenly she looked about**

**seven year old.**

**The spirit threw down her wine glass. It shattered and dissolved into the fog.**

"And it begins." Jake said.

"**That's right, girl. Doomed to walk the earth, and it's your fault! Where were you when I**

**died? Why did you run away when I needed you?"**

"I don't know which side to pick." Will said.

"**I— I—"**

"**Thalia," I said. "It's just a shade, it can't hurt you."**

"**I'm more than that," the spirit growled, "and Thalia knows it."**

"**But you abandoned me." Thalia said.**

"**You wretched girl! Ungrateful runaway!"**

Thalia started laughing.

"Stop that." Nico said.

"**Stop," Nico stepped forward with the sword drawn but the spirit changed form and**

**faced him.**

**This ghost was harder to see. She was a woman in an old fashioned black velvet dress**

**with a matching hat. She wore string of pearls and white gloves and her dark hair was**

**tied back. Nico stopped in his tracks.**

"Oh no." Annabeth added.

"Now I'm really confused." Will said.

"**No."**

"**My son," the ghost said, "you were taken from me so young. I died of grief, wondering**

**what had happened to you and your sister. "**

"**Mama?"**

"Aww how cute." Piper said.

"I didn't say it in a cute voice!" Nico defended while Thalia continued laughing.

"**No, it's my mother," Thalia murmured as if she still saw the first image.**

"My gods, woman!" Connor shouted. "Make up your mind! Or I'm just deaf again."

"It's wrong how you said that, Thalia." Rachel told her.

**My friends were helpless. The fog began thickening around their feet, twining around**

**their legs like vines. The color seemed to fade from their clothes and faces as if they too**

**are becoming shades.**

"**Enough," I said but my voice hardly worked. Despite the pain, I lifted my sword and**

**stepped toward the ghost. "You're not anybody's mama."**

**The ghost turned toward me. The image flickered and I saw the goddess of ghosts in**

**her true form.**

"Doesn't that burn you up?" Piper asked.

Thalia shrugged.

"We're still here aren't we?" Nico said.

**You think after a while I would stop getting freaked out by the appearance of Greek**

**ghoulies but Melinoe caught me by surprise. Her right half was pale chalky white like**

**she'd been drained of blood. Her left half was pitch black and hardened like mummy**

**skin. She wore a golden dress and a golden shawl. Her eyes were empty black voids and**

**when I looked into them, I felt as if I'm seeing my own death.**

"Now that's what I expected. Except for the gold dress and shawl." Leo commented.

"**Where are your ghosts?" she demanded in irritation.**

"Yeesh, woman they're not dead." Travis said.

"**My— I don't know. I don't have any."**

**She snarled. "Everyone has ghosts — deaths you regret. Guilt. Fear. Why can I not see**

**yours?"**

**Thalia and Nico were still entranced, staring at the goddess as if she were their long lost**

**mother. I thought of other friends I'd seen die: Bianca di Angelo, Zoë Nightshade, Lee**

**Fletcher to name a few.**

"Did she have to mention that?" Pollux and Nico said.

"Jinx" Will said between them.

"**I've made peace with them," I said. "They've passed on. They're not ghosts. Now, let**

**my friends go!"**

"I don't get it." Leo said.

**I slashed at Melinoe with my sword.**

"Isn't she a ghost?" Annabeth asked.

**She backed up quickly, growling in frustration. The**

**fog dissipated around my friends. They stood blinking at the goddess as if it they were**

**just seeing how hideous she was.**

"**What is that?" Thalia said. "Where—"**

"**It was a trick," Nico said. "She fooled us."**

"**You are too late, demigods," Melinoe said. Another petal fell off my carnation, leaving**

**only one. "The deal has been struck."**

"**What deal?" I demanded.**

"What deal?" Travis asked and Nico put his hand on his face.

**Melinoe made a hissing sound and I realized it was her way of laughing.**

"That's weird." Rachel commented.

"That's wrong." Leo said after.

"That's-"

"Shut up!" Katie warned.

"I was going to say annoying." Jake defended.

"**So many**

**ghosts, my young demigod. They long to be unleashed. When Kronos rules the world, I**

**shall be free to walk among mortals both night and day, sewing terror as they deserve."**

"**Where's the sword of Hades?" I demanded. "Where's Ethan?"**

"**Close," Melinoe promised. "I will not stop you. I would not need to. Soon, Percy**

**Jackson, you will have many ghosts**

"What does she mean by that?" Piper asked.

"Sounds like I don't wanna find out." Connor replied.

**and you will remember me."**

**Thalia notched an arrow and aimed it at the goddess. "If you open a path to the world,**

**do you really think Kronos will reward you? He'll cast you into Tartarus along with the**

**rest of Hades' servants."**

**Melinoe bared her teeth. "Your mother was right, Thalia. You are an angry girl. Good at**

**running away, not much else."**

"Let's put Thalia on a slingshot!" Travis joked.

"Oh haha. She said girl not bird." Thalia rolled her eyes.

**The arrow flew but as it touched Melinoe she dissolved into fog, leaving nothing but the**

**hiss of her laughter. Thalia's arrow hit the rocks and shattered harmlessly.**

"Now that's a ghost." Will said.

"**Stupid ghost," she muttered. I could tell she was really shaken up. Her eyes were**

**rimmed with red; her hands trembled.**

"No offense but you looked like a mad person." Nico said.

Thalia glared at him.

**Nico looked just as stunned like someone had smacked him between the eyes.**

"Hey!" Nico said.

"Well you did look like it." Thalia teased.

"I was afraid you were gonna charge at me."

"Or the fact that Melinoe fooled you."

"**The thief?" he managed.**

"**Probably in the cave. We have to stop him before—" Just then the last petal fell off the**

**carnation. The flower turned black and wilted. "Too late," I said.**

"I thought it would be one of those moments that you save the day a millisecond something bad happens." Chris said.

"Then you watch too much TV." Pollux told him.

**A man's laughter echoed down the mountain. "You're right about that," a voice boomed.**

"I was expecting an evil laugh from a small voice that turned out to be a fail." Chris said again.

"Then you spend too much time with the Stoll bros." Katie said.

**At the mouth of the cave stood two people — a boy with an eye patch and ten-foot-tall**

**man in tattered prison jumpsuit. The boy I recognize, Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis.**

**In his hands was an unfinished sword — a double edged blade of black Stygian iron with**

**skeletal designs etched in silver.**

"It was a pretty wicked sword." Nico added.

**It had no hilt but set in the base of the blade was a**

**golden key, just like I'd seen in Persephone's image.**

**The giant man next to him had eyes of pure silver. His face was covered with a scraggly**

**beard and his gray hair stuck out wildly. He looked thin and haggard in his rip prison**

**clothes as though he'd spent the last few thousand years at a bottom of a pit. But even**

**in this weakened state he looked plenty scary. He held out his hand and a giant spear**

**appeared.**

"Titan." Jason added.

**I remembered what Thalia had said about Iapetus. His name means The Piercer**

**because that's what he likes to do to his enemies. The Titan smiled cruelly.**

"**And now I will destroy you."**

"**Master," Ethan interrupted. He was dressed in combat fatigues with a backpack slung**

**over his shoulder. His eye patch was crooked**

"What's with the eye patch?" Pollux wondered.

**his face smeared with soot and sweat.**

"**We have the sword, we should—"**

"**Yes, yes," the Titan said impatiently. "You've done well, Noaka."**

"Haha, Noaka." Leo laughed.

"**It's Nakamura, Master."**

"**Whatever. I'm sure my brother Kronos will reward you. But now, we have killing to**

**attend to."**

"**My lord," Ethan persisted. "You're not at full power. We should ascend and summon**

**your brothers from the Upperworld. Our orders were to flee."**

**The Titan growled on him. "Flee? Did you say flee?"**

"Uh oh. Flee like little flies." Connor said.

**The ground rumbled. Ethan fell on his butt and scrambled backward. The unfinished**

**sword of Hades clattered to the rocks.**

"**Ma-ma-master, please."**

"**Iapetus does not flee. I have waited three eons to be summoned from the pit. I want**

**revenge! And I will start by killing these weaklings."**

"This'll be good." Chris commented.

**He leveled his spear at me and charged. If he'd be at full strength I have no doubt he**

**would have pierced me right to the middle. Even weakened and just out of pit, the guy**

**was fast. He moved like a tornado, slashing so quickly I barely had time to dodge the**

**strike before the spear impale the rock where I'd been standing. I was so dizzy; I could**

**barely hold my sword. Iapetus yanked the spear out of the ground but as he turned to**

**face me, Thalia shot his flank full of arrows from his shoulder to his knee. He roared and**

**turned on her, looking more angry than wounded. Ethan Nakamura tried to draw his**

**own sword but Nico yelled, "I don't think so!"**

"Yeah, go Nico." Nico said to himself.

**The ground erupted in front of Ethan. Three armored skeletons climbed out and**

**engaged him, pushing him back. The sword of Hades still lay on the rocks. If I could**

**only get to it. Iapetus slashed with his spear and Thalia leaped out of the way. She**

**dropped her bow so she could draw her knives but she wouldn't last long in close**

**combat. Nico left Ethan to the skeletons and charged Iapetus. I was already ahead of**

**him. It felt like my shoulder is going to explode but I lunged myself at the Titan and**

**stabbed downward with Riptide, impaling the blade in the Titan's calf.**

Nobody bothered to comment, they were all busy listening to the battle. Connor leaned back.

"The usual." He said.

"Shh!" Most of them said.

"Yeesh!"

"**Uhh-ah..." Golden ichor gushed from the wound. Iapetus whirled and the shaft of his**

**spear slammed into me, sending me flying. I crashed into the rocks, right next to the**

**River Lethe.**

"**You die first!" Iapetus roared as he hobbled toward me. Thalia tries to get his attention**

**by zapping with an arc of electricity from her knives but she might as well have been a**

**mosquito. Nico stabbed through his sword but Iapetus knocked him aside without even**

**looking.**

"**I will kill you all! Then I will cast your souls into the eternal darkness of Tartarus."**

**My eyes were full of spots. I could barely move. Another inch and I would fall into the**

**river head first. The river. I swallowed, hoping my voice still worked.**

"No way." Leo said with awe.

"Yeah way." Annabeth said softly.

"**You're— you're even uglier than your son," I taunted the Titan. "I can see where Atlas**

**gets his stupidity from."**

"All the titans are ugly." Chris said.

**Iapetus snarled. He limped forward, raising his spear. I didn't know if I have the**

**strength, but I had to try. Iapetus brought down the spear and I lurched sideways. The**

**shaft impaled the ground right next to me. I reached up and grabbed his shirt collar,**

**counting on the fact that he was off balance as well as hurt. He tried to regain his**

**footing but I pulled him forward with all my body weight. He stumbled and fell, grabbing my arms in a panic and together pitched into the Lethe.**

"Reminds me of that monster he fought." Thalia said.

"That was worse since we saw what was happening underwater." Annabeth commented.

**FROOM! I was immersed in black water. I prayed to Poseidon that my protection would**

**hold. And as I sink to the bottom, I realized that I was still dry. I knew my own name**

**and still had the Titan by the shirt collar. The current should have ripped him out of my**

**hands but somehow the river was channeling itself around me, leaving us alone. With**

**my last bit of strength I climbed out of the river, dragging Iapetus with my good arm.**

**We collapsed at the river bank — me perfectly dry; the Titan dripping wet.**

"Hmm I wonder…" Pollux said. Nico and Thalia started laughing.

"What?" but the two kept laughing.

**His pure silver eyes were as big as moons. Thalia and Nico stood over me in amazement.**

"And that's just half of the titan war." Travis said.

**Up by the cave, Ethan Nakamura was just cutting down the last skeleton. He turned and froze**

**when he saw his Titan ally spread eagle on the ground.**

"**My-my lord," he called. Iapetus sat up and stared at him. Then he looked at me and**

**smiled.**

"**Hello," he said. "Who am I?"**

"**You're my friend," I blurted out. "You're... Bob."**

Everyone started laughing.

"Hey, t-that's my idea." Piper stammered, trying to calm down.

**That seemed to please him greatly. "I am your friend Bob!"**

They laughed even harder.

"Maybe he'll started crawling and sucking his thumb!" Connor laughed.

**Clearly, Ethan could tell**

**things were not going his way. He glanced at the sword of Hades lying in the dirt but**

**before he could lunge for it, a silver arrow sprouted on the ground at his feet.**

"**Not today, kid," Thalia warned. "One more step and I'll pin your feet to the rocks."**

"Now that's a threat." Jason said to his sister.

**Ethan ran straight into the cave of Melinoe. Thalia took aim at his back but I said, "No,**

**let him go." She frowned but lowered her bow.**

Chris snorted.

"Trying to be the nice guy huh?"

**I wasn't sure why I wanted to spare Ethan. I guess we'd have enough fighting for one**

**day and in truth, I felt sorry for the kid. He would be in enough trouble when he**

**reported back to Kronos.**

**Nico picked up the sword of Hades reverently. "We did it. We actually did it."**

"That" Chris said. "I expected that line."

"Okay we get it, oracle of Delphi." Travis said to him.

"**We did?" Iapetus asked. "Did I help?"**

**I managed a weak smile. "Yeah, Bob. You did great."**

**We got an express ride back to the palace of Hades. Nico sent word ahead, thanks to**

**some ghost he'd summoned out of the ground. And within a few minutes, the three**

**Furies themselves arrived to ferry us back. They weren't thrilled about logging Bob the**

**Titan too, but I didn't have the heart to leave him behind especially after he noticed my**

**shoulder wound and said "Owie" and healed it with a touch.**

"I thought I'll never see the day." Jake laughed.

**Anyway by the time we arrived in the throne room of Hades, I was feeling great. The**

**Lord of Dead sat on his throne of bones, glowering at us and stroking his black beard**

**like he was contemplating the best way to torture us.**

"Why are the gods always mean to us?" Leo said.

**Persephone sat next to him, not**

**saying a word as Nico explained about our adventure. Before we gave back the sword, I**

**insisted that Hades take an oath not to use it against the gods. His eyes flared like he**

**wanted to incinerate me but finally he made a promise through clenched teeth.**

"Haha."

**Nico laid the sword at his father's feet and bowed, waiting for a reaction. Hades looked**

**at his wife. "You defied my direct orders."**

"Liar of course. Looks like bits of the Underworld rubbed off on her." Chris said.

"What the heck, Chris?" Jake commented.

**I wasn't sure what he was talking about but Persephone didn't react even under his**

**withering gaze. Hades turned back to Nico, his gaze softened just a little. Like rock soft**

**rather than steel.**

"Aww, Hades _does_ have a heart." Rachel teased.

"I know right." Nico blushed.

"**You will speak of this to no one."**

"**Yes, lord," Nico agreed.**

**The god glared at me. "And if your friends do not hold their tongues, I will cut them**

**out."**

"**You're welcome," I said.**

**Hades stared at the sword. His eyes were full of anger and something else — something**

**like hunger. He snapped his fingers. The Furies fluttered down from the top of his**

**throne. "Return the blade to the forges," he told them. "Stay with the smiths until it is**

**finished and then return it to me."**

**The Furies swirled into the air with the weapon and I wondered how soon I would be**

**regretting this day. There are ways around oaths and I imagine Hades would be looking**

**for one.**

"Of course. Luckily, he hasn't found anything yet." Wil said.

"Yet." The Stol brothers said.

"**You are wise, my lord," Persephone said.**

"**If I were wise," he growled. "I would lock you in your chambers, if you ever disobey**

**me again."**

**He let the threat hung in the air. Then he snapped his fingers and vanished into**

**darkness.**

**Persephone looked paler than usual. She took a moment to smooth her dress and**

**turned toward us.**

"**You have done well, demigods." She waved her hand and three red roses appeared at**

**our feet. "Crush these and they will return you to the world of the living. You have my**

**lord's thanks."**

"How will you crush roses?" Piper asked.

"Well, Beauty Queen, you throw them to the floor-"

"No need for that. I just always thought of crushing as crushing something hard."

Leo started at her. "You're stalling."

"No I'm not!" Piper defended.

"**I could tell," Thalia muttered.**

"**Making the sword was your idea," I realized. "That's why Hades wasn't there when you**

**gave us the mission. Hades didn't know the sword was missing; he didn't even know it**

**existed."**

"Ooh." People gasped.

"**Nonsense," the goddess said.**

**Nico clenched his fists. "Percy's right. You wanted Hades to make a sword. He told you**

**no, he knew it was too dangerous. The other gods would never trust him. It would**

**undue the balance of power."**

"At least Hades has a brain." Katie muttered.

"**Then it got stolen," Thalia said. "You shut down the Underworld. Not Hades. You**

**couldn't tell him what had happened and you need us to get the sword back before**

**Hades found out. You used us."**

**Persephone moistened her lips. "The important thing is that Hades has now accepted**

**the sword. He will have it finished and my husband will become as powerful as Zeus or**

**Poseidon. Our realm will be protected against Kronos or any others who try to threaten**

**us."**

"**And we're responsible," I said miserably.**

"**You've been very helpful," Persephone agreed. "Perhaps a reward for your silence."**

"**Get lost," I said, "before I carry you down to the Lethe and throw you in. Bob will help**

**me. Won't you, Bob?"**

"Haha."

"**Bob will help you," Iapetus agreed cheerfully.**

**Persephone's eyes widened and she disappeared in a shower of daisies.**

When no one was commenting, Travis broke a awkward silence.

"This is all normal, the usual." He said proudly.

**Nico, Thalia, and I said our goodbyes on a balcony overlooking Asphodel. Bob the Titan**

**sat inside building a toy house out of bones and laughing every time it collapsed.**

"I can't take it anymore. My mind can't imagine something that weird!" Leo shouted.

"Leo, stop over reacting." Piper told him.

"**I'll watch him," Nico said. "He's harmless now. Maybe… I don't know. Maybe we could**

**retrain him to do something good."**

"**Are you sure you want to stay here?" I asked. "Persephone will make your life**

**miserable."**

"**I have to," he insisted. "I have to get close to my dad. He needs a better adviser."**

"That's a good idea." Jason said.

**I couldn't argue with that. "Well, if you need anything…"**

"**I'll call," he promised.**

**He shook hands with Thalia and me. He turned to leave but he looked at me one more**

**time. "Percy, you haven't forgotten my offer."**

**A shiver went down my spine. "I'm still thinking about it."**

"What offer?" Piper asked Annabeth.

"Ask Nico." She pointed her thumb to Nico.

**Nico nodded. "Well… Whenever you're ready."**

**After he was gone, Thalia said, "What offer?"**

"**Something he told me last summer," I said. "A possible way to fight Kronos. It's**

**dangerous and I have enough danger for one day."**

"But you gotta admit, it was worth it and it was awesome to watch." Will said.

"Watch what?" Leo asked him.

"Tell you later."

**Thalia nodded. "In that case, still up for dinner?"**

**I couldn't help but smile. "After all that, you're hungry?"**

"Well duh, it's been like the whole day." Rachel added.

"**Hey," she said, "even immortals have to eat. I'm thinking cheeseburgers at McHale's."**

**And together we crushed the roses that will return us to the world.**

Katie frowned at the papers and looked at her fellow campers and said, "that's it." The others frowned, and Annabeth stood up, frowning too.

"Okay, guys, looks like we got time before dinner to work on the Argo." The campers looked at each other, each with horror-struck looks.

"Oh come on, Annabeth" Leo whined. "Do we have to? Maybe you could tell us a story about Percy?" He was hopping this would work.

"Hmm" everyone leaned in to hear. "I'll tell you about Percy…while we're working on the Argo." Everyone groaned while Leo whispered to Jason, "Let's hope she got a long story for us."

And everyone stood up and followed Annabeth and began walking to Bunker 9. Annabeth smiled and said,

"It all started when Percy arrived at camp."

**END **

**Hope you like it!**

**Who knows?**

**I only put there "The Short Stories" if you know what I mean…**


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